Bill Maher on Friday confronted conservative “Real Time” guest Rich Lowry for claiming he is “appalled” by the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by Donald Trump supporters, with Maher suggesting that the National Review editor in chief is still “going to vote for Trump” regardless.
The sparring match came amid discussion about the Supreme Court recently granting presidents broad immunity for “official” acts as a criminal case over Trump’s Jan. 6 actions proceeds.
Lowry, who has previously denounced Trump’s behavior amid the riot while still criticizing the case, said that Democrats might come to embrace the court’s decision if Trump’s 2024 rival, Kamala Harris, wins the White House and then faces an indictment for some official act.
“But Trump does really commit crimes. Let’s not forget that little part of it,” Maher pushed back.
“If the positions were reversed and a Democrat did this, not only would the Republicans go after him, but they would have done it,” he added, noting that multiple criminal cases against Trump have yet to be resolved.
When Lowry interjected to remind the panel that he’s “extensively on the record about Jan. 6” and “completely appalled by it,” Maher directly called him out: “You’re not so appalled that you’re not going to vote for Trump!”
“This is different, Bill,” Lowry replied, prompting Maher to repeat, “You’re not appalled!”
Lowry — who argued earlier in the show that prosecutors sought to keep Trump “in courtrooms from March to October” as part of a “political schedule” in one case — asked Maher if he’d “consider” voting for Trump if Jan. 6 never happened.
“Yes, if he conceded elections, he would not be the boogeyman that he is,” replied Maher.
“He would just not be the villain he is. That’s the main thing: He politicizes the Justice Department, and he does not concede elections. These are two very new things.
Julio Cortez/Associated Press
“Now you can carp all you want. And you can what-about the bullshit about ‘well, the Democrats say that he wasn’t a legitimate president’ — that’s different than actually trying to stay in office!” Maher said, adding that this “completely disqualifies” Trump.
In May, the former president was found guilty of falsifying business records in connection to a hush money payment to onetime adult film star Stormy Daniels. He has also been accused of mishandling classified documents, in addition to election interference at both the state and federal levels.
Prompted by the Supreme Court’s immunity decision, special counsel Jack Smith last week filed a revised indictment against Trump over the Jan. 6 insurrection, with four felony charges. If he is convicted, Trump could land in federal prison for decades. The former president has pleaded not guilty in all the cases against him.
