‘F*cking Liars!’ Bill Maher Lashes Out at His Own Audience After He Trashes Obama Presidential Library

Comedian and pundit Bill Maher lashed out at his audience when they undermined his rant trashing the Barack Obama Presidential Center with an ill-timed round of applause.

On Friday night’s edition of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, the interview guest was creator, writer, and director of the HBO Original series “Euphoria,” Sam Levinson.

The panel guests were Rep. Ro Khanna, Democratic congressman representing California’s Silicon Valley, member of the House Oversight and House Armed Services Committees, and author of “Dignity in a Digital Age: Making Tech Work for All of Us”; and Jonathan Martin, Politico’s senior political columnist and host of the podcast “On The Road with Jonathan Martin.”

Maher wrapped up the panel segment by getting his guests to explain the Obama Center to him, and calling his audience “f*cking liars” when they applauded to indicate they planned to visit the new library:

BILL MAHER: But you guys were both at the Obama Library. Do we have a picture of the Obama library? Because it looks like something aliens built in Dubai. I like it. Why do it cost $850 million? I don’t understand why progressives like this. Couldn’t that money be better spent on something else? Who’s going to go to this? Why do we need a president?

POLITICO’S JONATHAN MARTIN: Yeah, Ro, what do you think?

BILL MAHER: Why does anyone need a presidential library? These monuments to somebody’s ego out of office. Are you, anybody here in this audience planning to go the Obama presidential library?

(APPLAUSE)

POLITICO’S JONATHAN MARTIN: There you go.

BILL MAHER: Really? What a bunch of f*cking liars you are! You’re not going to the Obama library!

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): At a time that Elon Musk is talking about sending people to Mars, you’re telling me that spending up to a billion dollars, one billion dollars on commemorating the first and only African American who’s ever been president isn’t worth it?

BILL MAHER: First of all, we don’t need that building to do that. That’s in our hearts and minds. That already happened.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): But this is to inspire people. You know, Michelle Obama gave one of the greatest speeches. I’m telling you, don’t listen to me, just listen to her five minutes, and here’s what she said.

Racism was hurled at Barack Obama. Insults were hurled by Barack Obama, and he never lost his cool. He never gave into a temper, and she showed that hope and patience and aspiration can overcome that.

BILL MAHER: What does that have to do with the building?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): The story, the building tells that story.

BILL MAHER: You didn’t know that story without the building? Like, unless you go to the building, like Obama, who was he again?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, you know the Center for Education. You know the Center for Education?

BILL MAHER: Okay, but it’s not that $850 million versus going to Mars. I don’t want to go to Mars either. It’s $840 million going to the real causes of people who really need it. That’s the money I’m talking about. You know, we spend money on a lot of frivolous sh*t. I’m just saying, you can’t be a hypocrite about it.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I don’t think most presidents need libraries. I do think that Obama’s story is unique. I’m biased. I work for him. But it’s a unique story of telling the possibility in this country of someone who had no shot.

You know when I was in law school, when I interned, they said to me, Ro, you’re Indian American. You’re of Hindu faith. Go to the Capitol because you’ll never get elected to anything. That’s what I heard. And then Barack Obama happened, and he changed the direction of this nation for millions of people.

BILL MAHER: Again. Nothing to do with the building, but thank you.

Watch above via HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!