Bill Maher Says Ron DeSantis ‘So Strong’ and ‘Powerful’ Against Trump and Biden Because He’s Half Their Age and Can Be ‘Normal’
Comic and pundit Bill Maher on Friday said that what makes Gov. Ron DeSantis such a strong contender in the GOP is that he is doing things that are basically “normal” for a governor — and even the things that are treated as controversial aren’t really.
On Friday’s Real Time With Bill Maher the host discussed with California Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna and CBS News campaign correspondent Robert Costa the idea of Gov. DeSantis being a legitimate challenge to Donald Trump‘s supremacy in the Republican party.
Atlthough Rep. Khanna was relentlessly on-message, whipping out prepared DeSantis talking points at an exhausting pace, the three still managed to cover some ground on the subject of a challenge to Trump from within, whether it be from Ron DeSantis or other recent Trump target Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia.
After Khanna rattled off a particularly long and predictable rant against DeSantis, Maher said that, while he understands what Khanna is getting at with respect to DeSantis’s typical conservative views, the thing that makes him a strong threat to both Trump and President Joe Biden is that he can do the two most important things for a politician: rile the base, and do the actual job.
“I understand what you’re saying about DeSantis,” said Maher patiently to Rep. Khanna. “The reason why I think DeSantis is so strong is because he can do both things. He can do the performance art that seems to have you so exercised to the base, most of which I don’t really know if it’s that damaging.”
He explained that even some of the things that have Democrats “exercised” aren’t really that big of a deal.”
“He picks a fight with Disney,” Maher continued, bringing up one of the bullets fired by Khanna. “Does it really affect anybody? I mean, I read that ‘Don’t Say Gay’, which is not the name of the law. They called it the Don’t Say Gay law. It could have been called the ‘let’s do things in schools the way we did five years ago’ law. It really could’ve.”
The crowd applauded that point, which Maher has made previously on the show.
“So what I’m saying is he can do both that — But he yes, he he knows how to rile up the base. I agree. He’s a politician — but he also can be a normal governor,” said Maher. “In other words, after the storm, he can stand with President Biden like a normal governor does and work with them and then send some migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. You know, and that’s a very powerful thing to have both those elements.”
The discussion continued and eventually they circled back to the idea of Biden running in 2024, which Maher suggested nobody wants.
Biden would “definitely defeat Trump again,” said Maher, “but would he beat DeSantis?”
He also brought up age. “It’s gonna look weird, because he will be like literally twice as old as him.”
Maher explained that in terms of what works when running for office, getting in early is better than getting in later, and pointed out that a lack of record to run on was an advantage for Barack Obama in 2008. Rep. Khanna irritatingly reacted as if that was comparing the two men and did some preening about it, which sort of made the discussion fizzle out.
But whether he would fare well against Biden or not, it seems increasingly clear DeSantis would do very well against Trump.
Watch the clips above, via HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.
