Maher Compares Newsom to Trump: You Are Suing FOX News, “That Sounds Exactly Like What He Does”
On HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher accused Gov. Gavin Newsom of imitating President Donald Trump’s combative approach to politics, arguing his lawsuits against media outlets and social media trolling mirror his style. Newsom told Maher the country is living in a sewer and said Donald Trump has created a climate where “feel free to shove again.”
BILL MAHER, HBO, ‘REAL TIME’ HOST: I mean, what you saw this weekend in Washington. Not just coming after you, obviously, when you run for office. The horrible things people write and people say. And there is nothing off limits to take you down. GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): No. MAHER: And you’ve already been there, but it only gets worse the closer you get to the prize. NEWSOM: That’s right. MAHER: What did you think when you saw that this weekend? NEWSOM: Evil. I mean, you’ve got to condemn it. You’ve got to call it out. And so I don’t like the rhetoric on either side. We all have to be held to a higher level of accountability. So, you know, that’s easy to condemn. But there’s also an asymmetry here. You have the president of the United States that sets the tone and tenor for this country. And that’s not a partisan statement. That’s an institutional statement. He’s the president. And you just made the point. What did he do the day after? He talked about, you know, a beach photo and an indictment of one of his enemies. He talked about his ballroom, his Kremlin ballroom. He’s not doing anything to try to unite this country in any way, shape, or form. And, you know, for me, that’s, to me, that’s the biggest reflection of this moment, is how-just the sewer that we’re now living in because of Donald Trump. And he’s allowed all of us to feel free to shove again. And I think, you know, if nothing else- MAHER: But many people would say that you are imitating him. You-among all the people who may or may not be running, you are the one who kind of imitates his style with the trolling. You’re suing FOX now, I understand. NEWSOM: Well, we’re going into discovery. FOX better look to settle right now or apologize for defamation. MAHER: OK, but that sounds exactly like what he does. NEWSOM: A different point. MAHER: Suing media? NEWSOM: Different point. Well, then don’t defame, don’t lie. And, you know, FOX is a propagandist. MAHER: OK, again, but that does sound like him. NEWSOM: Well, here’s the point. I’m trying to put a mirror up to Donald Trump. Yeah. And I think it’s important, with a sense of humor as well. The deviation of normalcy is off the chart. This is a guy cosplaying as the pope, dressing up as Jesus, you know, this guy putting his face on Mount Rushmore, doing an all-cap. None of this is normal. And you may recall, when I first started doing this, the folks on FOX said, oh, this is so unbecoming of the governor of California. He should wash out his mouth with soap and water, with no situational awareness that their dear leader has been doing this for years and years and years. He’s a man-child. And so I think it’s important to call that out, the dignity of the president of the United States. But, again, we’re not trying to dehumanize. We’re just trying to reflect that reality and express the absurdity of all of this. And, look, the absurdity, it’s every day. It’s a corruption story, the Trump administration. You referenced it obliquely in the opening monologue. But let’s get serious. He’s got eight or nine countries. He’s done major golf course or development deals. It’s meme coins and stable coins. It’s crypto. It’s World Liberty Financial. It’s getting, you know, a piece of the peace. I mean, this Peace Board is about getting a piece for Witkoff and for Kushner. You see Donald Trump Jr. in the drone companies, in the mineral companies. You’re seeing the kind of corruption that’s not, you know, it’s not $ 60 Bibles. It’s not sneakers. It’s not $ 100,000 watches. It’s the greatest grift we’ve ever seen in our lifetime. And that also needs to be called out. We can’t allow any of this to be normalized. So our social media is part of that. And that’s why, you know, we’ve got to continue to be accountable. OK.
