‘It’s a Lie!’ Bill Maher Lashes Out Over Racist Trump Fan Gag — Says His MAGA Pals Have No Problem Greeting Black People
Comic, pundit, and podcast host Bill Maher lashed out over a gag portraying President Donald Trump’s fans as “racist,” calling it a “zombie lie” and defending his “MAGA” friends — who have “no problem shaking hands with a Black person.”
Fitness influencer and semi-White House reporter Jillian Michaels was the guest on this week’s edition of Maher’s Club Random Podcast, during which Trump was a frequent topic of conversation..
Maher — a frequent critic of Trump who nevertheless agreed to meet the president at the White House recently — seized on a Saturday Night Live sketch as emblematic of the alienation Trump supporters feel.
In the sketch, a Trump fan played by Tom Hanks is frightened by Black Jeopardy! host Kenan Thompson’s offer of a handshake, interpreting the greeting as an act of violence. He does eventually shake Thompson’s hand.
But Maher, like many who were offended by the sketch, interpreted it to mean the man refused to shake a Black man’s hand, and disputed that premise by telling Michaels his Trump-supporting pals are willing to shake hands with Black people:
JILLIAN MICHAELS: That whole deplorable thing you-
BILL MAHER: Oh, sure.
JILLIAN MICHAELS: They’re still doing that. Even when you, listen, I’ve met Tom Hanks a couple of times and he was very kind and very lovely and his wife was exceptionally lovely. But when he was on Saturday Night Live.
BILL MAHER: I hated it too and I said it on my show. I know. I hated it.
Wearing the MAGA hat, not shaking hands with a Black person. And that’s when I thought, you people don’t know MAGA people. (Nope!).
I mean, they have their issues and I certainly have my issues with them. But they’re, they’re generally, I mean of course there’s some racists everywhere who are that bad, but generally all the MAGA people I know have no problem shaking hands with a Black person.
You’re just hysterical and you’re not helping. And I agree. That was not not not helping and…
JILLIAN MICHAELS: I don’t get it. This is the part where I’m like, is this Titanic–?
BILL MAHER: Also, but mostly what I hate is it’s what I call a zombie lie. Don’t lie to me! It’s a lie.
JILLIAN MICHAELS: Yeah.
BILL MAHER: That MAGA people are Won’t shake hands with I get it. It is part of a skit and it’s an exaggeration and that’s comedy.
It’s it’s a little too delicate a subject to just make To go there for that one. So, you know–.
Look we all in comedy step over the line sometimes or do one that they want to take back. I doubt if they want to take that one back. I think they probably think it’s great.
But I’m telling as a liberal, I don’t like it. Again, because lying offends me. I’m a comedian. When the premise isn’t real, I can’t get– the joke is not gonna work. The premise has to ring true. That premise doesn’t ring true.
It might have rang true, I dunno, X years ago, it doesn’t now.
Watch above via Bill Maher’s Club Random Podcast.
