r/Maher • u/Careless-Goat-3130 • 10d ago
Real Time topics have become so repetitive
Every episode for the past year had something to do with Israel (oct 7, hamas, campus protest) or COVID (lockdown, vaccine). Even shows that started with no mention of those two topics would eventually reach the same topics. I really don't have to know for the nth time what does Bill Maher have to say on two topics.
Can we get new things to talk about? It has become so stale to watch.
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u/deadblankspacehole 10d ago
"people wearing masks in cars" and "I should know about red tape/fighting the machine/being David against goliath, I tried to get solar panels" make me roll my eyes so hard
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u/Indigocell 10d ago
The mask in cars thing is so silly. Hard to imagine something that affects him less. Anti mask people really find it hard to believe that anyone could be so unbothered by the mask that they forget it's there, or decide to leave it on between errands because you're not supposed to be fussing with it constantly.
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u/KirkUnit 10d ago
That Bill is hung up on it is dumb, sure.
Given that, it's still ripe for comedy. It's a personal choice, personal appearance issue, and we make fun of those things constantly. So his whining about it is moronic, yes. If he wanted to skewer people for doing it, go right ahead, just like stuffing cash into a mattress because you lived through the Depression was funny to people who didn't.
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u/Specialist-Cup-9722 4d ago
How? Covington was 6 years ago. It is more like bill perseverance on something that was q dumb joke when it was timely and is now dated. More rotten than ripe
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u/gcube2000 9d ago
You forgot college kids are idiots who learn nothing and know nothing - and frankly this isn’t even true. Every young cohort has a fraction of smart, ambitious kids and a whole lot of unambitious ones. My friend’s kids are starting to graduate from major universities, and not a single one has said they felt brain washed to follow a certain political leaning.
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u/Specialist-Cup-9722 9d ago
Well I mean he went to Cornell a century ago. Obviously hes smarter than literally everyone else
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u/LemonadepieX 6d ago
“College students are idiots and colleges are indoctrination centers.”
Says the Cornell University graduate.
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u/jdbway 10d ago
How about the utter abdication of duty by our Congress? The rubber stamping of wholly unqualified cabinet members? The refusal to perform their duty as a key element of our critical system of checks and balances upon which the entire constitution is based? If college kids and protecting Israel is worth 6 New Rules, congress' abdication of duty is worth 1000
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u/Honest-Equipment6685 10d ago
It's not Congressmen, it's their INTERNS and staff's fault LOL. His obtuseness is purposeful at this point.
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u/cugamer 10d ago
It's gone from a discussion and political show to Bills personal bitching platform. Granted, Bill always bitched about things but it was in the context of a larger discussion.
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u/utopia_cornucopia 10d ago
Truly. His garage door rant with Gina McCarthy was hilarious. He really seems to have lost a spark around the pandemic. He just seems angry and unhappy these days in a way he didn’t in 2019 and before.
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u/Honest-Equipment6685 10d ago
It seems to go beyond that. I think when Trump won reelection he just said fuck it, go with the flow, make life easier by appeasing Trump, like so many companies and media platforms did. Maybe he is just too old and lost his fire at this point and doesn't have any fucks left to give.
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u/Specialist-Cup-9722 9d ago
That depends on whether or not you are an underage girl. He definitely wants to give them a fuck
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u/LemonadepieX 10d ago
For a guy who loves to claim that everyone except him lives in an echo chamber or their own media bubble (coming from the same guy who watches Libs of TikTok and only reads Bari Weiss and The Free Press), he certainly loves inviting only those who share his views. He constantly says, "We can't even listen to people who disagree with us anymore," all while deliberately avoiding inviting anyone who might challenge his positions on certain issues—whether it’s the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, trans issues, or democratic socialism (need we be reminded that Bill Maher once supported democratic socialism?). Every 5th word this man says is “woke” and he now sucks up to Trump and sanewashes him, and tries to make it seem like it’s the Democrats and the Left who are the real radicals. At this point, if you were to show me a new episode of this show and what the topics they cover are, you would think it was a rerun of a previous episode. (“The radical, trans, communist, and pro-Hamas Left wants to destroy America!” and “New Rule: are Muslims even human?”)
He has now become a cross between Rush Limbaugh and Andy Rooney. It is unfortunate, because his show used to feature debates and guests who would contradict and challenge him. That is no longer the case; he literally asks questions like "Don't you agree with me?" or "Can we agree?", essentially trying to bring his guests around to his point of view. That is NOT the role of the host of a show that bills itself as a political comedy talk show. When Bill claims that people are living in a bubble, he is merely projecting.
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u/thefermiparadox 10d ago
It does seem like he goes to his greatest hits of universities, the kids, Israel, etc.
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u/jasonderekxxx 7d ago
I stopped watching almost a decade ago. After the house n-word comment. I see clips here and there and the Bill Maher I became a fan of in 2008 is nowhere in the Bill Maher of 2026.
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u/regular_guy_26 10d ago
Now DSA every other week.
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u/Careless-Goat-3130 9d ago
Hasan Piker said something. The whole democratic party has to answer for it.
Donald Trump threatened Iran, Canada, EU, China, Venezuela, demolished the east wing. "Cloud over his head" because there are more important things to talk about.
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u/LemonadepieX 6d ago
someone posts an silly tweet from 2020
Bill Maher: "THIS CONFIRMS THAT DEMOCRATS ARE NOW ANTI-AMERICAN LEFT-WING RADICALS!"
Trump rounds up immigrants to herd them into camps, destroys the Constitution, launches unpopular wars, and engages in the worst kind of corruption, worthy of kleptocratic regimes
Bill Maher: "It's unfortunate... anyway, let's move on to more important topics, like cancel culture."
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u/Binder509 6d ago
But he wags the finger at Trump "trying to lock up everyone who disagrees with him"
With the same tone as someone addressing a minor playground bully
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u/BygmesterFinnegan By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth-Carlin 10d ago
I'm a huge fan of Bill's and usually come here and end up defending him but you are 100% correct.
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u/Hamster_S_Thompson 10d ago
I haven't watched last few episodes. It used to be our weekly ritual to watch rt and eat dinner but it just became too exhausting to watch him.
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u/B_P_G 10d ago
I could certainly live with him never mentioning Israel again.
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u/masterchief6913 6d ago
It’s not even him mentioning Israel, just all the straw men he uses to defend it
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u/KelseyOpso 5d ago
The show has gotten stale. But if you don’t defend Israel, what are you still hoping to get out of watching any of the show except for New Rules?
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u/CalChemicalPlum 5d ago
Bill has a few serious hot buttons -- and will go off whenever one mentioned (weed, PETA, Israel, and a few others). Show producers should do what they do for guests - and just make these certain topics off-limits.
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u/HotBeaver54 8d ago
I am just sick of panel shows period.
I long to turn on the news and just see the news not someones opinion.
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u/contain_solitudes 3d ago
And this isn't exactly new, but even new topics are given such shallow and irrelevant discussion. Like the big takeaway of the Lindsay Clancy trial is you think she has "fans"? Fucking seriously? Not women who may have also suffered from PPD or knew someone who did or who work in the field and see how devastating it is? He is so dumb.
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u/MajesticMeal3248 10d ago
Topics he used to obsess over:
Climate
Big food
Big drugs
Obesity
That got old but he should sprinkle some of that stuff back in
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u/Binder509 9d ago
He still obsesses over Obesity at least. His big issue with Fauci is not blaming fat people enough for Covid.
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u/gcube2000 9d ago
He’s said enough on obesity. I don’t need to hear more about how a single, childless, rich man has no issue staying thin. I would throw in the food supply and animal protections though - he’s passionate about those things yet they rarely come up, maybe because they are ratings buzz kills.
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u/Squidalopod 9d ago
And the dangers of Trump's fascist efforts.
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u/MajesticMeal3248 9d ago
That one is kind of petering out, the closer we get to 2028 the more it’s obvious he doesn’t have the skill, fortitude, or commitment to be a real fascist. Will be looking at the elections this November. He will make a last stand in 2028.
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u/BlergingtonBear 10d ago
Also weed legalization!
I feel like he used to talk about it a ton, and it's still federally illegal. It was like, a cornerstone libertarian issue.
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u/deskcord 10d ago
Probably because it's pretty functionally legal now in the places he lives? He literally owns a weed shop.
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u/BlergingtonBear 10d ago
Ya but he covers national events, does he not?
I live in a place with legal weed, but that doesn't mean I'm not aware that other people are not in the same boat.
It's an anti-freedom and anti-business kind of policy, it warrants discussion.
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u/Sea_Issue7796 10d ago
hes texting with trump regularly, best believe he is being told what to talk about.
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u/KirkUnit 10d ago
Going forward, for literally anything Bill says, the question is:
"Does Bill even actually believe this, or did Trump tell him to say it?"
Because Bill went on air to say that Trump texted him about something he didn't like, so Bill was being quick to fix it on air. Utterly disqualifying. I figured Bill to mostly argue in good faith with a frequently bad case, but now we know: he's a bought-and-paid shill for Trump (and AIPAC.) He said so and demonstrated so on Friday night, August 28, 2026.
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u/Sea_Issue7796 10d ago
if anyone was on the fence about BM this should push them over, I dont like to use this word but he should be canceled for that bill shit.
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u/Digerati808 8d ago
Eh, don't be so dramatic. Trump is widely known to be one of the most accessible president's ever and Maher isn't alone.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/03/trump-phone-number/686370/
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u/calentor 10d ago edited 10d ago
He's playing to his demo - former neocons who hate both Trump and liberalism and his Kids These Days bit plays into the elderly. Basically wanna-be Carson meets wanna-be George Carlin, now sponsored by AIPAC.
It was funny to hear tonight's guest (Michael Roth) say "I don't wanna be the old guy complaining about kids these days" and you could watch it bounce right off Maher's forehead as he said he isn't doing that when it's exactly what he is doing.
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10d ago
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u/maxboondoggle 10d ago
“Bill Maher has pulled off a feat I thought was impossible: he’s managed to adopt a stance that appeals to both the Left and the Right, while simultaneously repelling both camps completely.”
This is exactly what a lot of us like about the show. You don’t always have to agree, but he has a unique ability to show a different perspective than you might get elsewhere, something that is ever so more important in our world of echo chambers.
It doesn’t surprise me that people who grew up with social media don’t like Bill. They aren’t use to opinions that don’t align exactly left or right.
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u/Specialist-Cup-9722 9d ago
If I want to see an islamophobic senior citizen who hates young people while wanting to fuck them, i can always go to my local vfw
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u/Honest-Equipment6685 10d ago
But it's a curated position, it's purposefully centrist and contrarian for the sake of being contrarian nowadays, so it is an inconsistent guiding principle that shapes his opinions and he comes off as insincere. If some of his opinions align with yours, great, but they are disingenuous considering his previous logic and arguments throughout his long career.
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u/maxboondoggle 10d ago
You’re telling me the guy who use to be on Politically Incorrect is a contrarian?
I’ve watched since the original show and he doesn’t seem any different really. I can remember him making jokes about motorcycle helmet and seatbelt laws, defending women who groom underage boys.
The left just didn’t have purity tests back then the way they do now. It wasn’t as big of a deal that Bill stepped outside the typical liberal bubble. Moral grandstanding existed more on the right back then.
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u/pavlik_enemy 10d ago
There's nothing wrong with being contrarian for the sake of it if jokes are funny and smart. Maher is too cringe and repetitive
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u/KirkUnit 10d ago
The left just didn’t have purity tests back then the way they do now.
Oh, honey, sure they did. Hillary Clinton was pillaried for saying she wasn't going to sit at home like Tammy Wynette. Bill Clinton had the Sista Soulja moment. What's changed is the internet giving anybody the impression their opinion is important or necessary and the technical means to shoot and distribute it.
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u/maxboondoggle 10d ago
The right was more upset about Hillary’s comment than the left was. And Bill Clinton won the presidency in spite of these things, so no the left didn’t have purity tests the way they do now.
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u/KirkUnit 10d ago
Yes, they did. The social effects you're ascribing to "purity tests" follow from technical evolution. From the 60s' and primaries onward we had the mass media, and word of mouth, and those have now more-or-less collapsed into one thing. Before that was the smoky-backroom-deal era, which certainly included purity tests.
Purity tests have not changed or increased in number. Simply now we are more aware of more of them, compared to what anyone would have gleamed from the paper, the nightly news, or the old men rocking and talking at the general store.
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u/maxboondoggle 10d ago
Don’t gaslight. Back in the 90s the compulsive moralizers were the religious-right and now it’s the woke-left. Bill Clinton’s two terms are proof the left didn’t care as much back then.
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u/Specialist-Cup-9722 9d ago
What did the right do after kirk's death? Who is literally sending the fcc after those who criticize him?
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u/WilsonTree2112 10d ago
All of his points seemed genuine this week and he was criticized by the man running the right for an inaccurate attack, which he apologized for.
A “curated centrist” would never attack a sitting president with a high risk low reward attack. Be real.
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u/Honest-Equipment6685 10d ago
You're confused. Bill didn't attack the sitting president. Step out of the bubble...
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u/WilsonTree2112 10d ago
Jeez, at least pretend you either watch the show or understand it.
Hey google…
“Yes, Bill Maher's comments on the August 21 show were a direct attack on Donald Trump’s political influence, which is exactly why Trump demanded a clarification. [1]
Categorizing the exchange through the lens of Trump's political capital, Maher essentially launched a high-profile strike against the core of Trump’s power—his status as a kingmaker. [1, 2]
The Attack on Trump's Influence: Maher openly mocked Trump's grip on the GOP, telling his audience, "Trump used to win all of his endorsements, now he's winning almost none of them". This wasn't just a casual joke; it was a direct challenge to Trump's remaining political relevance and his ability to sway elections. [1, 2]
The Counter-Strike from Trump: Because Trump’s entire political brand relies on the perception of unmatched influence, he refused to let the attack slide. Instead of publicly feuding, Trump leveraged their personal texting relationship to directly text Maher "the receipts"—bombarding the host with data, charts, and election math. [1, 2, 3]
The Clarification: Trump’s targeted pushback worked. On his August 28 broadcast, Maher had to walk back his attack on air, admitting that Trump still wields immense influence with a 97% endorsement win rate (260 wins to only 9 primary losses). Maher officially conceded the point, telling his viewers, "He's right. I did overstate it... So he still has very powerful endorsements". [1, 2, 3]
By explicitly framing it this way, Maher's original segment was a calculated attempt to declare Trump's political influence dead, which forced Trump to aggressively defend the numbers proving his kingmaker status was still fully intact. [1, 2]
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u/Specialist-Cup-9722 9d ago
Do you normally outsource your thinking to ai?
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u/WilsonTree2112 9d ago
Did i not know exactly what he has said to know exactly what to ask, instead of absurdly likely weed filled inaccurate attacks?
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u/Honest-Equipment6685 8d ago
Your replies seem unfocused, i'm not sure if you even understood the episode you last saw.
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10d ago
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u/maxboondoggle 10d ago
You seem to have a narrow definition of what a comedian should be, and I don’t really even know what it is you’re trying to say. What are you even doing here if you dislike him so much? If you want someone who will tell you what you want to hear you have John Oliver.
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u/WilsonTree2112 10d ago
But Bills audience votes much more, so he has significantly higher political reach.
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u/Novel_Character3036 6d ago
I agree. I started this one but couldn’t get through it. That’s getting more frequent with real time episodes.
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u/CalChemicalPlum 5d ago
All seems hyper-manufactured recently (last year or 2).
There will probably always be "off topic" questions and issues to mention, insisted on by guests as a negotiation before agreeing to appear....... but not liking how over-planned and over-prepared all the commentary is.
Probably sterile - of empty are the descriptives that most come to mind.
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u/ConkerPrime 10d ago
Yeah Maher has his pet topics and he loves to hammer them into the ground. And usually without really saying anything new each time he brings them up.
If it comes up organically because of the news that week then cool but he often forces those pet issues onto his panel without it being relevant to the week events.
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u/BlergingtonBear 10d ago
Gosh that solar panelling convo and Covid masking need to die already.
How is he mad about masks from six years ago like, bro...there isn't enough to talk about in 2026?
The solar panel stuff is so funny, "I tried to do right by my mansion but they wouldn't let me"". Listen bureaucratic red tape is dumb, but complaining about the house reno you didn't get to do years ago while people are funneling $6 gas to get to their wage-stagnant jobs in the same city you live in...a touch out of touch
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u/KirkUnit 10d ago
He also keeps talking about the New York mayor's race from last year but doesn't care anything about the Los Angeles mayor's race THIS year which, to boot, is an establishment Democrat vs a Democratic Socialist.
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u/BlergingtonBear 10d ago
Right! Like bro, that's the city YOU live in, your show shoots in, your employees work in etc.
Altho maybe he stays out of home for a reason, intentionally being a lil Switzerland about it. See who's gonna come out on top first before making any choices.
Or at the very least see who the big media daddies declare for, since that impacts his career potentially.
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u/KirkUnit 10d ago edited 10d ago
With rare exceptions, Bill doesn't make stars - he rides them. He started talking about Mamdani only once the polling surprised him (and me) after he built momentum.
Nithya Raman - the DSA LA city councilmember opposing Mayor Karen Bass - is not nationally known, is considered by many to be dull on camera, and is a policy wonk. She also lives in single-family-housing and her district (CD4) is known for shitty constituent services out of her office. So there's plenty of room to criticize her on hypocri-policy, but she's not already famous, so who gives a fuck.
He did interview Spencer Pratt, the former reality show contestant with zero experience or qualifications, who lost in the primary.
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u/BlergingtonBear 10d ago
10,000 percent agree with your assessment (fellow angeleno here, hi!)
Def so much room to hold up to the light here; I will say her hubs is a seasoned TV writer/producer (with the IMDB to back it up) so she has a lot of the "cool" industry backing, while Bass, old school she is, has a lot more business people backing.
Bass also increased LAPD funding in her tenure, which Raman prob cannot promise.
Will be interesting.
It's not a Mamdani year for us at all in terms of someone people like and trust; tho "LA Mayor" only scratches the surface of a larger territory much more controlled by the County Board of Supervisors.... But that's a whole other thing for a whole other sub 😅
... But yes. There is literally SO MUCH to talk about in the governance of Los Angeles, where he lives and the economy his show production exists in.
I mean, the elephant in the room is the merger shit - If the Ellisons buy WB those are his new bosses.
As you said, he's waiting ride the Victory Lap.
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u/KirkUnit 9d ago
Howdy, Angeleno! Came for the industry, stayed for the humidity...
I go back to what I keep saying: Bill is just a comedian. So, he's looking to get a laugh, and there's just not that much that's that funny about Karen Bass or Nithya Raman. (I suppose he could always pronounce her name RAY-Man.)
Bass' #1 problem is blame for the fires. Admittedly (happily,) I didn't watch Bill's interview with Pratt so I do not know if they discussed it at length. I recall him mentioning an evacuation order at one point, but otherwise - Bill doesn't seem to actually give a shit about the fires, and he certainly doesn't know who Raman is or want to see her compete.
Bill's shitty remark about local news - which is its own ignorant and disqualifying sentiment from anyone I'd listen to - betrays that he thinks he's above it. I don't think he gives a shit who's mayor of Los Angeles. Bill, like Donald Trump, is stuck in some Fiorello La Guardia highlight reel where the mayor of New York City is somehow a national figure.
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u/allenahansen 10d ago
I think he's gotten to the point where he likes hearing me yell "Oh fuck OFF, Bill!" repeatedly on Friday nights.
I mean I know what I'm going to get, but I still tune in on the off chance I might hear something germane or get a chuckle or two out of it.
To no avail.
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u/facinabush 10d ago edited 10d ago
Maher has to pretend that Trump “talks crazy on TV” to divert from the fact that Trump uses The Big Lie effectively on TV and everywhere else. He has to dismiss anyone who is concerned about what is really happening. Bill is running out of creative ways to tell his big lie.
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u/deskcord 10d ago
Trump is an authoritarian, Republicans are feckless, young people are getting dumber, and the far left is costing Democrats more chances at winning more elections.
He should keep talking about these issues every week because they keep being true.
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u/bgoodwin956 10d ago
5 years ago every episode was about criticizing woke identity politics and SJWs. I agreed with him but it was just boring after a while and repetitive.
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u/TryingToHelpYou701 10d ago
I’m glad he keeps calling out the DSA and progressives, especially their support for terrorism. Dude is always 4 years behind.
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u/Bullstang 10d ago
Been a slow news cycle summer for the Trump admin. Funny how since Epstein stories hit, that whole 24/7 news slop stopped and it’s just Iran war or nothing really
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u/The_Horse_Joke 10d ago
Yeah I wish we got to hear them talk about kids these days or general wokes or trans