Bill Maher says he might quit HBO show after Donald Trump’s election win
Bill Maher is ready to throw in the towel.
During Sunday’s episode of his “Club Random” podcast with guest Jane Fonda, which was recorded before the presidential election in November, the comedian expressed his fear over Donald Trump emerging victorious over Vice President Kamala Harris.
“It’s hard to believe,” Maher, 68, said, adding that he was “s–tting my pants” over Trump becoming the 47th US President.
Maher said he “may quit” his HBO talk show, “because I don’t want to do another” four years of discussing Trump and his policies.
“I did Trump,” he said. “I did all the Trump stuff before anybody. I called him a con man before anybody. I did. He’s a mafia boss. I was the one who said he wasn’t going to concede the election. I’ve done it.”
Fonda, 86, asked the comic why Trump isn’t actively “hostile” toward him, but is to Jimmy Kimmel.
“He’s very hostile to me. He tweets about me every week,” Maher claimed. “Every week he accidentally watches my show and then [writes], ‘Low ratings, loser.’”
Fonda then told Maher to switch lanes and select a new topic to talk about on “Real Time with Bill Maher,” rather than discussing Trump.
“The show is the politics. There’s no other thing, and he’s going to dominate the news like he always does,” he said in response.
Trump has been very vocal about his distaste for Maher, calling him a “befuddled mess” whose show is “ratings challenged.”
“Real Time with Bill Maher” debuted in 2003, and features the comedian discussing the current state of politics alongside a handful of guests.
In March, Maher’s HBO show was renewed for two more seasons, which will see it through to the end of 2026.
While Maher hasn’t shied away from making his feelings about Trump known, he vowed to avoid “pre-hating” the incoming president and his administration.
“They are calling themselves the ‘disruptors,’” Maher said last month. “The country does need disrupting. I mean, the country needs a colonic and a slap in the face so bad.”
“Do I have really good, optimistic feelings about it? No, I don’t. I’m just not gonna pre-hate. I can’t get into that mind[set]. Let’s see what the disruptors can do. Because, quite frankly, the experts have just sort of, like, let something go for so long that it’s just sclerotic now and constipated.”
“Let’s see what happens,” he added.
