Liberal talk show host Bill Maher argued that liberals who usually politicize tragedies are silent when Democratic leaders are to blame.
Many Californians, including celebrities, have lost their homes in the Pacific Palisades area as the fires continue raged there and elsewhere in Los Angeles County, burning more than 27,000 acres, destroying more than 10,000 structures and killing at least 25 people, according to local officials.
While LA Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom received some criticism for their management before and during the devastating fires, Maher argued in an interview with TMZ that more critics need to speak up and hold liberal leaders accountable.
Talk show host Bill Maher argued that local Democratic leaders in California should be held accountable by their fellow Democrats.
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“I stand with the people who want to hold politicians accountable,” Maher said newspaper edition.
The comedian pointed out that many liberals are saying, “We shouldn’t talk about it now,” describing them as “hypocrites.”
“It’s so funny to hear that coming out of liberals’ mouths, because they hate it when conservatives say that after a gun tragedy, which is what conservatives always say after a mass shooting. ‘This is not the time to politicize it.’ ‘ And then it never did,” Maher said. “It’s absolutely time to talk about it.”
Although he said there are other factors that make a certain level of disaster inevitable, such as global warming, he stood by his claim that “mistakes” were made.
“Was it always bad? Of course,” Maher said. “Their arguments are not wrong. We built a city in a terrible place to build a city. Global warming is absolutely making the heat and weather worse. The winds were ridiculous. Yes, I get all that. And they also made a lot of mistakes.”
Water is dropped by helicopter on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Ethan Swope/AP)
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Maher added that “If you hold Bush responsible for Katrina” then “you’ve got to have some intellectual honesty in criticizing your team when it’s not doing it right. And they’ve had plenty of time to get this right, er.”
The HBO host also emphasized that somehow such disasters “always feel like the worst they can be” – a sign that more should be expected of leaders.
“I think we should demand better,” Maher argued.
