“Real Time” host Bill Maher suggested those who voted for President Donald Trump are actually “disappointed” by his first 100 days in office, even if they don’t “say it out loud.”
“I think for liberals, it’s worse than they even thought when they projected out,” Maher began his panel discussion on Friday.
“Let’s talk about what it is for the other side, for the MAGA people, because I think they’re disappointed, even though they may not say it out loud,” Maher later said. “I think they thought when they were voting for Trump that, ‘okay, you know, job losses over the last many decades, and wage stagnation, and the system is just corrupt and broken.
“‘So it just needs drastic change. Just break everything. F— the judges, f— the democracy, f— the trading partners. We have nothing to lose.’ And now they found out oh, actually, they got plenty to lose.”
Later in the conversation, Maher cited reports that Trump is looking for an “off-ramp” on his tariff policies, which the HBO host interpreted as “good news.”
“I think [it’s] good news that he can actually do that, that he can actually change his mind on things,” Maher said. “And his superpower is that it’s such a cult that his followers, even when he changes on a dime, will just go right with him. Ever watch geese fly? One turns, then the others turn.”
Maher read off a report on how executives from top retailers, including Target, Walmart and Home Depot warned Trump that Americans could face higher prices and empty shelves within weeks as a result of the tariff war.
“So people met with him and then something did change,” Maher said.
“Yeah, the checks and balances of his billionaire friends,” New York Times columnist Bret Stephens quipped.
“But somebody talked to him is all I’m saying, and it did seem to move the needle,” Maher responded. “Because his other billionaire friend Ken Griffin said the US is 20% poorer than it was a month ago. It could be a lifetime to repair the damage that has been done.”
“And Frank Luntz, the pollster, he said ‘On July 4th, picnics will happen. I think he has another three months before voters turn on him.’ What do you think about that?” Maher then asked.
Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., responded by telling Maher the “problem” is that Trump “will listen to whoever last talks to him,” adding that “the harm is done” even if Trump reverted to the pre-tariff era due to the instability of his economic policies.
Trump will reach 100 days on April 30th.