Bill Maher Says Democrat Politicians Are ‘Cowards’ — Unlike 9/11 Terrorists: ‘You Don’t Know Sh*t’

Bill Maher trashed Democrat politicians as “cowards” while also doubling down on a controversial stance that ultimately led to the cancellation of his first show.

During the “new rule” segment on Friday’s Real Time, Maher took aim at the media and Democrats, noting some significant differences he’s seen since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

He called out media outlets for being more sensitive to the word “terrorism.”

Maher said:

A lot of media outlets don’t even want you to say the T-word on the 25th anniversary for American Journalism Associations put out guidance that said that terrorism should only be used in quotes because it’s emotionally and politically loaded. Yeah, so is the World Cup. But we don’t put soccer in quotes. Really? We can’t anymore just say out loud who the bad guys were that morning, those 19 hijackers? They shared something. Oh, let’s call it a world view. And it wasn’t astrology. But somehow, over time, we’ve decided not to harp on that, the whole business about who wanted us dead and why. Let’s not put a name on it. When it comes to terrorist attacks, please, there are very fine people on both sides.

Maher placed blame on Democrats for the culture change on the left, especially in younger generations, noting a 2023 poll that found 20% of Americans aged 18-29 have a favorable view of Osama Bin Laden, the former al-Qaeda leader.

“Was this a clash of civilizations? It was, and it still is. Not between Muslims and Christians. No reasonable person was saying that,” Maher said. “But radical Islamism versus Western liberalism? Yes, that’s a real thing. Fighting people who hate freedom of religion and hate homosexuals. And hate the idea of women as equal and free humans, how did liberals wind up on their side? And many did.”

Maher then doubled down on a statement that landed him in plenty of hot water in 2001. Shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Maher said on Politically Incorrect that the terrorists couldn’t be described as cowards because flying a plane into a building “is not cowardly.”

“We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That’s cowardly,” he said at the time.

Maher apologized at the time amid advertiser backlash. ABC ultimately cancelled the show in July 2002, though they insisted the controversy was not the reason.

Maher doubled down on Friday and used his past statement to target Democrats over their criticism of Israel and accusations of a “genocide” in Gaza.

He compared Democrats’ “genocide” declarations to MAGA Republicans who need to insist President Donald Trump won or was cheated in the 2020 election:

I know a guy whose show got canceled just for saying the terrorists weren’t cowards. And that guy was right. They weren’t cowards, but I’ll tell you who is: Democratic party politicians. And I’ll tell you why, because nowhere has this moral confusion become more obvious than in a place called Gaza, a little strip of land that was not part of the original Israel, but which they won in a war launched against them, but then gave back as a peace gesture. Did they tell you that part on TikTok, kids? And the people who run Gaza, Hamas, who you celebrate as a liberation movement but are really a terrorist mafia gang, just like the one that terrorizes Haiti, only ever used it to stage attacks on Israel. I think Macklemore spoke for all clueless celebrities when he said, “I know enough to know this is a genocide.” Actually, you don’t know sh*t. It’s not a genocide, it’s a counter attack in a war.

He added that he would need to literally go back to the aftermath of the Civil War to find a moment when Democrats had a worse look.

“Gaza equals genocide is a lie, an easily provable lie. And the fact that so many prominent Democrats go along with it is, to me, the party’s worst moment since they undid Reconstruction after the Civil War,” Maher said.

Watch above via Real Time.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!