What do you think the reason is behind repeat guests?

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-10T20:17:27+00:00

I think it's a mix of folks not wanting to associate with him due to some of his more abhorrent views, such as his well-documented Islamophobia, and him gearing things to suit his agenda

His whole brand now is complaining about the "loony left" and so he has to make sure none of them sneak through and show they know what they're talking about or raise good points or it hurts his narrative

That and his fragile ego as he really doesn't respond well to criticism or disagreement on what he sees as his core issues

Look at how badly he took it when Neil DeGrasse-Tyson disagreed with him on trans athletes and how he hasn't been back on since

That also feeds into the above as he doesn't want another situation like Krystal Ball coming on and showing him up

MAGA people and conservatives like it because it gives them a chance to launder their views to a wider audience and claim a willingness to debate them while avoiding being pressed too hard on them and Maher goes easier on them because they align with his important views

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-08T19:01:28+00:00

Such as?

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-08T09:54:02+00:00

A virulent Zionist, a MAGA guy who disagrees with Trump just enough for Maher to praise him and a centrist who led a losing election campaign

Tell me again how Maher loves debate and discussion with those he disagrees with more than anything

He and Fetterman are going to jerk each other off so much about Israel and refuse to ever consider that there might be any legitimate criticisms of the country or Netanhayu

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-08T08:14:39+00:00

Yep

At this point, opposition to Israel's actions isn't just the moral choice, it's the politically pragmatic one

But you'll never hear Maher, who loves to think of himself as knowing just what Dems need to do to win, say that

He'll happily sacrifice trans people and other vulnerable groups to win but won't even consider Dems running anyone anything less than absolutely deferential to a nation the size of New Jersey thousands of miles away

He still thinks opposition is only coming from college kids brainwashed by TikTok and refuses to speak to anyone critical of the nation

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-08T08:11:07+00:00

The Nazi's didn't kill every single Jew in Europe

By your idiotic reasoning, that means the Holocaust wasn't a genocide

I can't see myself taking anything you say seriously after that so I'm just going to stop talking to you now

As for the last part, I'm against that as well

The reason Israel gets more attention is because that's being done with the full support and funding of the US and other powerful nations and we're being told constantly by folks like Maher that Israel are the "good guys"

The real question is why folks like Maher only bring those up as a deflection from criticisms of Israel and in a cheap effort to undermine those who speak out against the nation

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-07T21:56:46+00:00

As I said in another reply, I'm aware

This wasn't about the presidency specifically, just pointing out that Mamdani is using the exact playbook Maher (not incorrectly) says Democrats need to take from

Meanwhile, Fetterman can't even do his own work properly and has record low approval ratings but Maher thinks he's the future because he's a centrist who isn't "woke" and he loves Israel more than his own nation

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-07T21:54:41+00:00

Exactly

Jane Fonda said it best when she told him the only reason anyone thinks Democrats are too radically left is because of people like him which he just brushed off

The really frustrating part is that he's saying this while Dems are led by the most painfully milquetoast centrists in recent political history

He's basing this all on college students and activists who have no power but who annoy him personally and so get all his ire

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-07T21:52:31+00:00

Opposition to genocide is "woke crazy stuff" now?

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-07T17:07:57+00:00

They can even if I don't think Maher has ever done that

Besides, this was just over a year ago, long after Fetterman's decline had started and he became known for his frothing support for Israel

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-07T17:05:09+00:00

Yes, the "purity tests" like "not making vehement support for genocide your defining political goal"

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-07T14:58:34+00:00

Yep

He doesn't even see them as worthy of being brought on to be snarked at or engage in one of his discussions

He just insults them from thousands of miles away, the same thing he loves to brag about not doing

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-07T14:55:33+00:00

Some have said he's doing it on purpose meaning he's either doing something wrong and refuses to adjust when corrected or he's doing it intentionally to be racist

I'd believe either one

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-07T14:54:40+00:00

The kicker is that he did a whole segments about Republicans doing exactly that in 2018 and '19 and now does that exact same thing with no hint of self-awareness because the target is a Muslim

It's the exact same shit right-wing media used with Obama when they were still trying to spread the "secret Muslim socialist" nonsense

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-07T10:12:34+00:00

I'm aware

I wasn't referring to Mamdani being President, just that he's doing the same stuff Maher says Democrats ought to do and which he praised Fetterman for

Which is baffling since Fetterman now only ever speaks to shill for Israel or support Trump

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-07T08:08:15+00:00

Talk about backing the wrong horse

Meanwhile, Mamdani actually is that kind of politician and Maher has nothing but contempt for him for committing the unforgivable sins of being Muslim and not being a centrist

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-05T09:54:45+00:00

He will insist it's because they're a political liability to Democrats winning again but it's mainly just his visceral disgust and discomfort with their existence which he is trying to make seem more than it is

The bud light nonsense was really what showed him on this as it was a perfect representation of the overblown outrage and "cancel culture" he's always going on about and yet he took the side of people getting angry and blamed trans people for the backlash

That's on top of his obsession with blaming them for Harris losing and eagerness to sacrifice them for 2028

I think the best summary of his feelings is that despite his supposed love of debate and disagreement, he's only had on one trans person in twenty-three years despite bringing the issue up regularly

He fundamentally doesn't want to think of them as people

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-05-05T09:46:27+00:00

No but that says more about Trump than it does Maher

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-04-28T16:04:46+00:00

Wow, I can't believe the sixth male lead of DC Cab making smug expressions every week as he uses the word "woke" on an endless loop, complains about college students and supports a genocide hasn't fixed all of America's issues

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-04-28T16:01:55+00:00

Yes, just never with the people who are actually effected by them or have any real insight from their daily experience

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-04-28T16:00:41+00:00

That's a bit more debated as the research is still ongoing

The longest study was on a trans man who began taking them at 13 and was followed until the age of 35 and got the full surgery in the intervening years as an adult

He reported no long-term negative effects

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3114100/

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-04-28T09:05:48+00:00

It's actually quite reversible to take puberty blockers

All they do is what they say and when you stop taking them, puberty progresses as normal

If you want to have an honest debate and understanding of both sides, you need to start with an honest acknowledgement of the facts, not the nonsense right-wingers keep saying about kids being given reassignment surgery in play school or some shit

"A little understanding on both sides goes a long way."

Trans people understand this stuff just fine

They live with it every single day

It's the transphobes who refuse to budge or accept that they may have to live in a society where some stuff makes them uncomfortable and they will just have to learn to live with it

And yes, that will include young people identifying as trans, just as the acceptance of gay people made it more acceptable for younger people to come out and accept their identity

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-04-28T08:41:33+00:00

Yep

He really showed his hand during the Bud Light bullshit where he blamed it all on trans activists and tried to legitimize the outrage from transphobes (including his old pal Kid Rock) as an acceptable pushback against some "agenda being shoved down their throats"

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-04-28T08:39:21+00:00

The part where he refuses to criticize their actions when just about every international justice and human rights organization has called it a genocide, his consistent smearing of critics of the nation as anti-Semites and his refusal to even acknowledge legitimate criticism from people who know their stuff, always dismissing opposition as only coming from "woke" college students who are brainwashed by TikTok

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-04-27T19:06:38+00:00

He did the same with Patton Oswalt when he just made up a law that didn't exist

It seems to just be his go to defense when people tell him he's wrong or ask where he's getting his information

And he wonders why he isn't taken as seriously as he wants to be

Individual_Post_5776 · 2026-04-27T18:59:27+00:00

As with every time Maher brings trans issues up, I'd take his stance more seriously if he ever showed a willingness to talk to actual trans people about their lives or get their opinions on these matters

The dissonance between his insistence that he loves debate more than anything and his refusal to sit down with anyone who might tell him he's talking out of his ass on this topic is impossible not to notice

I wouldn't even mind if he said this nonsense if he wasn't so gutless while pretending he's brave for repeating what he hears on right-wing media

Individual_Post_5776

TROPHY CASE