HBO’s “Real Time” host and old-school liberal Bill Maher defended Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) against attacks by leftists during his Friday program and said that the popular Sunshine State leader should run now for president.
Maher defended DeSantis from attacks by the media and a Democratic lawmaker who appeared on the program after the governor won a massive reelection victory over Dem challenger Charlie Crist, which likely led to down-ballot victories by Republicans throughout the state.
“The reason why I think DeSantis is so strong is because he can do both things,” Maher said during a discussion featuring guests Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and CBS News correspondent Robert Costa. “He can do the performance art that seems to have you so exercised to the base, most of which I don’t really know if it’s that damaging.
“He picks a fight with Disney,” Maher continued. “Does it really affect anybody? I mean, I read that ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ which is not the name of the law.
“They called it the Don’t Say Gay law. It could have been called the ‘let’s do things in schools the way we did five years ago’ law. It really could’ve,” he added, to audience applause.
“So what I’m saying is he can do both that — But he, yes, he, he knows how to rile up the base. I agree. He’s a politician — but he also can be a normal governor,” Maher said. “In other words, after the storm, he can stand with President Biden like a normal governor does and work with them and then send some migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. You know, and that’s a very powerful thing to have both those elements.”
At that, Khanna complained about the rise of DeSantis and added that he doesn’t have a foreign policy agenda (DeSantis, a Yale and Harvard Law School grad, is also a former Navy officer and veteran, as well as having served in the House for three terms). Maher countered that he doesn’t have to have one because Florida isn’t part of the UN so it wouldn’t make much sense for him to focus on foreign issues.
Later, Maher said he thought that President Biden could once again beat Trump in 2024 but was not certain that Biden could defeat DeSantis.
“Would he beat DeSantis?” Maher offered. “That I don’t know. And It’s gonna look weird, because he will be like literally twice as old as him, no really, and DeSantis has like three little kids. You know, that always plays well in America. America likes new.”
“DeSantis should run now and quickly,” Maher said. “This is the problem with Chris Christie.”
“Right,” Costa responded. “He could have run in 2011, 2012. Sometimes in politics, you have one chance.”
“The longer you stay at the fair, the more you get beat up,” Maher quipped. “Like when Obama ran they said, ‘he has no record,’ he went, ‘Good. Great. I’m glad I have no record.’”
“This is his moment in the sense that the Republican Party, for the first time in seven years, is starting to say” no to Trump, Costa noted further.
“Exactly,” Maher responded.
Bill Maher defends Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis from left-wing attacks. Maher says he should run for president right now. pic.twitter.com/H1HD2cS82X
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) November 14, 2022
