A growing list of President Donald Trump’s formerly bitter rivals are showing signs that they’re at least starting to warm to the idea of four more years under his leadership.
Among the most notable members of that group is Bill Maher, the comedian and host of HBO’s “Real Time” who spent the majority of Trump’s first term in histrionics over the supposed damage being done to the country.
This time around, however, Maher appears to more worried about the Democratic Party’s far-left lurch.
During a recent CNN interview, he shared his updated philosophy:
“I’m not going to chase every rabbit down the hole like I did the first term,” Maher said during his Friday appearance on CNN’s “The Lead” about President-elect Trump.
“He’s a kooky guy who says a lot of kooky things, and I’m just not going to pre-hate anything. I’m just going to hope for the best, and then when something serious happens, I’ll comment on that,” he told CNN anchor Jake Tapper.
Maher, a vocal critic of Trump, has previously said that things may get worse for voters if the Republican candidate triumphs in the 2024 presidential election. The comedian predicted he would lose to Vice President Harris in November last year. Trump ended up winning and sweeping all seven battleground states.
Following the election, he was critical of Democrats, saying the party lost both chambers of Congress and the White House, in part, because of their “aggressively anti-common sense agenda.”
A number of other prominent one-time Trump foes have similarly expressed a willingness to give him a chance to lead before they immediately begin demonizing his every action:
Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) confirmed he will be the fist Democratic senator to visit Trump at his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida.
According to the Associated Press :
The trip marks Fetterman’s continuing evolution from a leading surrogate for President Joe Biden into a Trump-friendly lawmaker since Trump won the premier battleground state of Pennsylvania in November.
Fetterman since has shown surprising warmth to Trump, complimenting his political appeal, agreeing with him on some policies and embracing some of Trump’s would-be Cabinet nominees.
Fetterman said in a statement Thursday that Trump invited him to meet and that he accepted.
“I’m the Senator for all Pennsylvanians — not just Democrats in Pennsylvania,” Fetterman said. “I’ve been clear that no one is my gatekeeper. I will meet with and have a conversation with anyone if it helps me deliver for Pennsylvania and the nation.”
During the recent CNN interview, Maher addressed rumors stemming from his previous quip that he might walk away from his talk show if Trump were re-elected.
According to HuffPost :
Bill Maher says he won’t be leaving HBO’s “Real Time” anytime soon.
The comedian and political pundit confirmed as much during an interview Friday on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” after suggesting in December on his “Club Random” podcast that he “may quit” due to Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election a month prior.
“What I was saying was that I didn’t want to do another Trump term,” Maher told Tapper. “Not just because I don’t think it’s going to be possibly a great time for America … but because I’ve already done all the jokes about Donald Trump. I don’t know what else to say.”
“I was hoping that in the episodic television show that is America, I was hoping for some new characters,” he added, about Trump’s continued cultural and political reign. “But it’s like they rebooted ‘Matlock,’ but instead of getting Kathy Bates they put Andy Griffith back in it.”
The 1980s legal drama starring Griffith was rebooted last year with Bates in the titular role.
Here’s a clip from the segment:
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