Liberal talk show host Bill Maher said he wasn’t worried that former President Trump would win the 2024 race or target him if he returned to the White House, saying he’s not letting himself panic about the election, this time around.
On his “Club Random” podcast on Sunday, Maher debated his guest, Dr. Phil McGraw, on a variety of topics, including illegal immigration, anti-Israel extremism on college campuses, and the current polarization in America.
At one point, Dr. Phil addressed Maher’s strong feelings about the former president, asking the liberal host what he would do, “if Trump wins.”
“Nothing,” Maher replied. “Nothing. Going on with my show and making jokes at his expense every week.”
“And that’s why this is a great country. Because as crazy as he is, you know, he didn’t do anything about it the first time. So I’m just not going to lose my nervous system about it,” he continued.
Maher immediately went on to clarify that he still believes the former president is capable of imprisoning his critics.
“Now, he could. He’s insane, so he could start sending people to Guantánamo Bay. I don’t put anything past this guy,” Maher continued.
“He thinks they’re eating the cats and the dogs. But am I going to worry about it? First of all, I’m not going to worry about it, Phil, because he’s not going to win,” Maher argued.
Following the presidential debate in September, Maher confidently predicted that Trump’s election chances were “over” and Vice President Kamala Harris would win the November election.
“I’ve been known as a Trump alarmist, and now I’m saying I’m not even nervous,” he told Dr. Phil on the podcast.
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“It’s going to be close. The polls will be dead even on Election Day,” he said.
Maher argued that Americans had become fatigued by the former president over the years and had reached a breaking point.
“We’re talking about a few hundred thousand people perhaps, but I think it’s going to be a little closer than that,” he said about the razor-thin race.
Back in March, Maher said he would do “everything he can” to stop Trump from winning in November.
At the time, he was uncertain if President Biden or Trump would win the election. He quipped Trump would either “blow up the world or put me in Guantánamo Bay or whatever,” if re-elected, adding “but I just cannot worry about it constantly.”
With just over three weeks to go until Election Day, a trio of new national polls suggest Trump is erasing gains made by Harris the last couple of months since she replaced Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket.
Harris edged Trump 50%-48% among likely voters questioned in an ABC News/Ipsos poll, down from a six-point lead for the vice president last month.
The two candidates are deadlocked at 48%, according to a NBC News poll of registered voters nationwide, after Harris enjoyed a five-point advantage a month ago.
Additionally, a CBS News/YouGov nonprobability based survey of likely voters indicated Harris with a three-point edge over Trump, slightly down from a four-point advantage a month ago.