MSNBC’s Velshi Tells Bill Maher It’s ‘Good’ Companies Feel Forced By Staff to Wade Into ‘Divisive’ Politics and Risk ‘Financial Blowback’

On HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, MSNBC’s Ali Velshi said that Gen Z and Millennial employees have no loyalty to and could abandon employers who fail to correctly take a position on hot political issues, a state of affairs he sees as a “good development.”

In Friday’s Overtime segment, host Bill Maher read the question directed to Velshi, which was whether it’s wise “for corporations to take stances on divisive issues that can possibly cause financial blowback.”

“Look, I think there’s a couple of issues here,” said Velshi. He argued that America is short of workers, and was short of workers even before the pandemic.

“So what you find with companies, despite the Gen Z students with whom, the young people with whom you have some concerns — they don’t have loyalty to their companies. So companies find that they have to do things that satisfy these employees in order to keep them, and not keep churning through them,” he explained. “And one of the things, one of the biggest things that polling and surveys by companies show that workers want right now is their companies to take positions on matters that are important to them.”

“So the bottom line is there’s a there’s an imperative by employers, by consumers for companies to take positions,” he said.

Velshi acknowledged that corporations doing so can face blowback and public anger, but said Congress isn’t doing a good enough job so private companies should do so instead.

“The bottom line is, I think it’s a good development that companies are wading their way into politics. They were always there anyway with their paychecks, with their donation checks,” he said. “Now they’re getting there and actually talking directly to what the problems are.”

Bill Maher is not as sure.

“Do you know any or anyone who actually runs a company?” he asked. “Because I don’t know anyone who runs a company who doesn’t fucking hate the Gen Z and millennials in their office.”

“But whether you like it or not, you have to employ them,” said Velshi.

Maher added he doesn’t have that problem at his show. “We have the be– fantastic kids here. No really, we do. But that’s because we don’t hire assholes, you know?”

“But I’m telling you, it is a subject that often comes up at dinner in this town. But, you know, privately, you know, people would not say it out loud, but they think it’s just a nightmare. They’re too sensitive. You know, they don’t want to come to work anymore because of COVID. The people who are the least likely to die from it are still the most afraid of it. I don’t know.”

Democrat and former Alabama senator Doug Jones then agreed with Velshi that “corporate America should be leaders” on divisive issues, presumably meaning cultural issues, since that is where most of these battles take place.

Maher closed by noting once again that it can be a real problem for a company.

DOUG JONES: So I don’t think it’s just the Gen Z, though. It’s the employees. I mean, look, that corporate America should be leaders. They really should be leaders. And if that means taking a difficult stand, then doggone it, if they want their congressmen, they want their senator, they want their governor to take courageous — they need to step up and do the same thing.

BILL MAHER: I’m just saying, they hate working with people who don’t have a sense of humor. Everything is a subject for, you know. I can’t believe you said that. I’m offended. HR. How dare you? A tremendous sense of entitlement about where they should be in the company. It’s like you just started Tuesday. Yes.

So sometimes you just have to get the coffee for a while. I’m just I’m just saying. Again, this is not my life, but I hear it all the time. I’m just I’m just a reporter. Just a humble reporter.

Watch the clip above, via Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO.