Bill Maher and Ben Shapiro Spar Over Whether Trump Might Be a Dictator: ‘How Could You Possibly Forgive It?’

Bill Maher sparred with The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro over his support for former President Donald Trump in an episode of the former’s Club Random podcast released on Sunday, asking Shapiro how he could “forgive” Trump for his behavior in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.

During their conversation, Maher sought to close the loop on the topic by asking Shapiro if he would “admit it” if Trump exhibits authoritarian behavior after the 2024 election, win or lose.

After Shapiro replied in the affirmative and Maher said that he believed him, Shapiro noted that he “opposed him [Trump] when he was doing this between November and January last time around.”

“Okay, but he did it. So how could you possibly forgive it?” shot back Maher.

“I mean, I don’t forgive what he did between November and January, and now I’m faced with a binary choice between two candidates. And who do I think is going to be close to the policies I want,” answered Shapiro.

“You really think the hellscape that would be America would be worse under Kamala?” pressed Maher while arguing that Harris should convince undecided voters that she is not a “stealth woke nut.”

“Are you convinced?” asked Shapiro.

“No, but I would take that even over — as much baggage comes with that, it’s still better than the guy who doesn’t concede elections, loves Putin, loves autocracy, fundamentally doesn’t understand that that’s the lynchpin to America, the peaceful transference of power,” said Maher. “No, I don’t think he would ever give it up.”

The pair continued to spar over the point, with Shapiro submitting that it is more likely that Harris will be a disastrous president than it is that Trump will be an authoritarian and Maher contending that while that may be so, the downside with Trump should be weighed more heavily.