“Real Time” host Bill Maher on Friday cracked several jokes about the nationwide “No Kings” protests planned for Saturday, but he ultimately argued that the demonstrations are valid, as President Donald Trump has been acting like “an authoritarian Taylor Swift.”
The pop star has often used her music to take jabs at people she feels have wronged her. Trump appears to have weaponized the Department of Justice to do the same, as several lawmakers he considers his political enemies have been criminally indicted in recent weeks.
“This is all the people who are upset about the obviously anti-democratic things he’s doing here,” said Maher about the protests. “They’re getting out in the streets, they’re saying, ‘We are not going to take this lying down! Milling around? Yes, we’ll do it milling around.’”
Millions of Americans are expected to demonstrate Saturday at more than 2,500 protests against potential authoritarianism under Trump. And while Maher suggested this won’t accomplish much, he went on to defend the movement against right-wing criticism.
“The Republicans are saying this is not ‘No Kings Day,’ they said this is ‘Hate America Day,’” he said Friday. “Yeah, liberals hate America? That’s what they think? ‘Yeah if you won’t stop assembling freely and speaking freely, we’re gonna send our masked, unaccountable secret police to arrest you, as America should be!’”
Top Republicans have painted the constitutionally protected protests as anti-American.
Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) said at a press conference last week, “They’re having this ‘Hate America’ rally in Washington.” Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) even suggested, with absolutely no evidence, that the “No Kings” organizers are part of “the terrorist wing” of the Democratic Party.
“This ‘Hate America’ rally that they have coming up for Oct. 18, the antifa crowd and the pro-Hamas crowd and the Marxists, they’re all going to gather on the Mall,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press
“I mean, Trump does not like this, being called a king,” Maher said Friday.
“He said, ‘I am not a king, and the next person who calls me one, they’re going to find their ass in the dungeon, let me tell you!’ He denied it. He said, ‘I am not a king, I have no intention of becoming a king, but if some country wants to donate a gold crown, I’m not gonna say no.’”
Maher also seemed troubled by the recent indictments of ex-FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former national security adviser John Bolton — who became a vocal critic of Trump’s after leaving his first administration.
Bolton was indicted Thursday on charges of violating the Espionage Act.
“Comey’s indicted, Letitia James … now John Bolton, his former national security adviser,” Maher said Friday. “Wrote a book about him — not a good idea. He’s indicted. Trump is going after everyone that ever pissed him off. He’s like an authoritarian Taylor Swift.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.celebrity.land ’
