Comedian Bill Maher on Saturday condemned the assassination attempt on former President Trump, expressing concern about the political damage it has caused to progressives and calling Trump the “luckiest motherfucker” ever.
“I’m glad he’s okay,” he said in Minneapolis in a stand-up special, reacting immediately after the shocking events. “Trump, I have to say, he’s the luckiest man on earth. And again, I’m glad he’s OK. I mean, 2016, he’s been the luckiest — he came up so far behind in the popular vote, he just took an inside track.”
Maher, a fierce critic of the president and host of HBO’s “Real Time,” said that “I unequivocally condemn the firing,” anticipating that some of Trump’s opponents would laugh it off “because they hate him so much.”
“Not from me. Not from me,” Maher said, and his audience applauded.
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump is assisted by security personnel after gunfire is heard during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, USA, July 13, 2024. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
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Trump was shot in the ear by a gunman. Potential killer Speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday evening. The attacker killed one rally attendee and seriously injured two others before he was killed by law enforcement. As the Secret Service escorted him off the stage, Trump waved at his supporters and shouted, “Fight!”
The shooter was identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Pennsylvania. According to voting records, Crooks was a registered Republican but had only attended the polls in person. November 8, 2022, state elections because of his age. Records show he donated $15 to the Progressive Turnout Project, a Chicago-based political action committee that supports Democrat candidates for public office and claims to advocate for “key Democratic constituencies: young people, minorities, and low-income people.”
Maher said the photo of Trump leaving the stage with his fist clenched and blood on his face could mean the 2024 election is “over,” while adding that anything could still happen.
He added, “MAGA Nation finally got its perfect martyr.”
Maher said it no longer matters who the Democrats nominate because President Biden has issued a challenge Since his atrocious performance in last month’s debate, he has faced calls to drop out of the nomination and concerns have been raised about his mental acuity and his ability to defeat Trump.
“He acted out this scene like he rehearsed it,” Maher said, imitating Trump’s fist-shaking gesture. He quickly added that “idiot conspiracy theorists” spread false notions.
“He gets hit in the leg and the other guy gets shot. That’s just so Trump-like,” he said, while some viewers groaned.
Though Maher is not alone on the late-night circuit as a political liberal, he stands apart from his contemporaries because he has called on fellow Americans to understand Trump supporters, often saying that you can hate Trump but can’t hate all your fansHe regularly criticizes the so-called “wokeness” and excesses of the left, which has earned him progressive critics as well.
“Real Time” host Bill Maher (Screenshot/HBO)
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Maher expressed concern that the shooting had caused heavy damage to the political left.
“A lot of the moral high ground has been lost because of ‘You are a violent person.’ Liberals don’t shoot people,” he said. “That’s not how liberals address it.”
Belying Maher’s point, in 2017, a Bernie Sanders supporter opened fire during a congressional baseball game practice in Alexandria, Virginia, seriously wounding Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., and several others.
Maher criticized “Project 2025,” the Heritage Foundation’s long list of policy proposals for the next Republican White House that has attracted a lot of media attention in recent weeks. Many liberal critics have called it a frightening blueprint for an authoritarian takeover.
He echoed the words of Kevin Roberts, president of the conservative think tank, saying, who spoke on the podcast Earlier this month, he said the next “American Revolution” would be “bloodless if the left allows it to be.”
“This all has to stop,” Maher said. “Because this violence doesn’t happen in a vacuum. It never happens in a vacuum.”
Maher said he can already see these memes coming.
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“It’s going to work for them,” he said. “Biden can’t get through the debates, and a bullet can’t stop Donald Trump!”
Biden called Trump on Saturday evening and condemned the shooting, and joined a bipartisan chorus in wishing him well.
Fox News’ Scott MacDonald contributed to this report.
