James Carville has joined a burgeoning group of Democrats in condemning “Real Time” host Bill Maher over his recent dinner with President Donald Trump. The longtime strategist shared his thoughts Saturday on his “War Room” podcast and didn’t mince words.
“So it’s not a secret he’s a friend of mine, I’ve been on the show many, many times,” said Carville about Maher.
He added, “I think Bill would say, ‘Look, he’s the president, I don’t agree with him, no one’s been more critical of him than I have, but I went and he was very charming.’”
Maher essentially said just that last week on “Real Time,” recalling in a lengthy monologue that Trump was “gracious and measured.”
Since the March 31 dinner, the president has jeopardized U.S. markets with a steep tariffs policy and defied a court order to bring back a man who was mistakenly deported. The White House confirmed earlier this month that Trump is exploring ways to deport American citizens.
“I would defend Bill Maher to this extent: I think he’s a supremely naive man,” said Carville.
Carville reminded his viewers that Trump regularly “shits on the Constitution,” has been “caught lying 36,411 times” or more, was convicted last year on 34 felonies, and engages in “every grift that you can imagine“ — only for Maher to find him pleasant.
The 80-year-old went on to accuse Maher of lending “legitimacy and credence” to Trump.
Maher seems to have shifted his stance on Trump dramatically after years of criticizing the reality television personality-turned-president, joining a host of prior critics, including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, in warming to the MAGA chief.
Maher presented his dinner as a necessary evil last week and slammed fellow Democrats for refusing to meet with Trump over their ideological differences. The “Real Time” host even complained Thursday about not getting enough credit for his supposed bravery.
Left: Raul E. Diego/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images; Right: Evan Agostini/Invision/Associated Press
“Now, are you gonna come back and say, ‘Yeah but he got elected, James. I’m hard on him,’” said Carville. “I think Bill Maher … went into this not fully understanding that [he] gave legitimacy to a guy who is only legitimate by the fact that he get elected to something.”
“The criticism, I think, is useful, because it’ll make someone else think twice again,” the strategist continued. “But I don’t think we’re dealing with normal opposition here. It’s not Tip O’Neill and [former President] Ronald Reagan having a beer together or something.”