A narrative-challenging interview set Bill Maher questioning a presidential candidate’s appearance on his own program: “I mean, let’s face it…if this campaign was going well, you wouldn’t be on this show.”
Fresh off the second GOP presidential primary debate, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joined the comedian for the return of his HBO program “Real Time with Bill Maher.” The candidate’s willingness to do so raised its own question from the host who served up a number of opportunities to contrast his campaign with that of former President Donald Trump.
“Why run against Trump? You’re trying to thread this needle that will never happen,” wondered Maher after noting the 45-year-old governor had years ahead of him to launch a bid for the White House. “I mean, let’s face it, Ron, if this campaign was going well, you wouldn’t be on this show.”
Brushing off the claim, DeSantis fired back with several of his own as he said, “That’s not true.”
“One, I don’t think he could win the election. I could win the election. Two, I don’t think he could actually get the job done that we need to do,” asserted the governor. “For example, COVID. I think we need accountability for what this government did to this country with the COVID restrictions, mandates and lockdowns. Donald Trump is not gonna do that.”
“He says he did everything right! He says he saved millions of lives with lockdowns. He claims his mRNA shot saved 100 million lives. He’s not gonna clean house at CDC, NIH, FDA or any of that. I will do that, I will get the job done and a lot of other things we could do,” the conservative candidate continued.
The contrasting record on COVID has remained a sticking point for many voters when considering the 2024 presidential nominee, with particular regard to the president’s repeated laments about not getting enough credit for his actions on Operation Warp Speed and the CARES Act. When challenged by Megyn Kelly on her podcast about his record which included awarding Dr. Anthony Fauci a commendation on his last day in office, Trump later critiqued her as “pretty nasty” during the interview.
“And she just, you know, boy, she became nastier all of a sudden,” the GOP frontrunner told an Iowa crowd. “She was pretty nasty, didn’t ya think? Anybody that watched it?”
Maher also challenged DeSantis on the notion that Wednesday’s debate had a winner absent an appearance by the president as he contended, “The debate, it was a sh*tshow.”
“I heard you won, I heard the polling said you won. What did you win? No, honestly. With Trump not in the race, what did you win?” the host asked.
In response, the governor critiqued Trump’s apparent refusal to put his record up against those of challengers before the public and said, “He’s not showing up. He’s missing in action. He owes it to voters to show up and defend his record.”
“In the midst of all the show that happened. I was the one guy that people said, ‘You know what, this guy’s actually acting like a president,’ when the rest were not,” defended DeSantis.
“So, it’s about the country. Are we gonna get the country turned around or not?” the candidate later posited as a flurry of positive responses filled social media about his readily applauded appearance before a contentious forum.
DeSantis mostly yucked it up with Bill Maher but gave solid, articulate and substantive answers to Maher’s serious questions.
He looked relaxed and Presidential.Finally, the dishonest people who have been claiming DeSantis is stiff and charmless can sit down and shut up.
— Any (@anyayell) September 30, 2023
From what I saw Ron DeSantis did very well on Bill Maher show.
I really like him.
— Texas Darlin’ (@TexitDarling) September 30, 2023
DeSantis interview on Maher was good.
I always believed doing interviews like Maher can be extremely difficult bc the tone can shift in a blink of an eye. Serious questions followed by often pointed but sarcastic humor is a hard thing to cope with from one question to the next.…
— TheUnusualSuspect (@beerandtokens) September 30, 2023
Good interview between DeSantis and Maher. I wish I didn’t have to suffer through the monologue first but it was a fun interview with some sparring, some laughing and surprisingly more substance than I expected.
— FugitiveMama (@fugitivemama) September 30, 2023
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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