Steve, your "editing" of Joseph Goebbels' “The Storm is Coming,” speech is a masterpiece! BTW, I never liked Bill Maher for his smarmy delivery, but his comments on Trump have turned my dislike into outright loathing. He obviously bought into another "performance" by the Chamelion-In-Chief.
Yes, he also worked very hard for years, denigrating, attacking, and humiliating Christians and other theists. The effect of his actions was to communicate to us that the left does not like us; they hate and ridicule us. This forced many away from the left-leaning political sphere. Similarly, his 'woke crusade' converted, or at least led many to support, the right. He has showcased a number of right-wing extremist figures, giving them legitimacy and effectively normalizing their views. He is part of the group of 'poison peddlers' who have harmed the nation, perhaps out of blindness, deliberately. His on time million-dollar donation, was in in the past.
Its a shame that all ideas are polarized and "labeled" as left or right with the implication that one must support or deny them collectively... no room to pick and choose one's causes from a menu. Life is just not that simple. It makes it easy for someone like Maher to poison the well.
My experience is that Maher fights back against these extreme right wing fascists who dare to go on his show. He may agree with them on one or two points, but most of his interviews showcase their specious arguments, their lies, their ignorance and their utter moral failures.
Every single RW nutjob he 'showcases' have ample opportunities to express their free speech elsewhere in other forums. What he does is provide them additional space to spread their poison and lies, feeding them with the attention they thrive on and in the process giving legitimacy and some acceptably to them.
Maher and this comes to us from the corrupt American media circus. Let’s turn it all off. Try reading Walt Whitman’s Democratic Vistas. Here’s a place for inspiration way more relevant than even de Tocqueville.
Everything trump and MAGA says and does is from that playbook that Steve just demonstrated. There’s nothing new here. It’s devastating that people have either forgotten or never learned the history that is repeating itself and writ large.
We have become too dependent on getting spoon fed information from social media, influencers, etc. to put the effort into getting facts and information so we can form our own opinions.
First off-I’m a slow study. I read Larry David’s NYT ‘My Dinner With Adolf’ article and didn’t connect the dots. Sometimes I forget that context is everything. To Mr. David: the article was a Jalen Brunson dagger three with the buzzer going off. You know that’s the case as it seems that poor Bill was-um-a little nonplussed by it.
And now I will say ‘Thank you, Steve Schmidt’ for this measured article that exposes the self serving duplicitousness of Bill Maher, who bottom line, is all about himself.
Maher is a 21st Century version of William F. Buckley. He sits there slouched in his armchair, bring paid stupid money to hold court-oozing the same sort of sticky entitlement laden privilege that left me feeling like I needed a damp washcloth to clean myself off when I’d watch Buckley spin his ‘I’m better than all the ‘little’ people schtick back in the day.
And now this stuff erases all doubt. These two Bills are brothers from different mothers. Bottom line for Maher-he’s just-plain and simple-capital S Show trash, but instead of the snotty New England Wasp pedigree, it’s the smarmy Hollywood Royalty thing.
Every so often m, as with Bill Buckley, I’ve been tempted to take Maher seriously. He uses his high paid platform to make himself seem relevant. He pitches being that guy. The guy who can get away with selling a schtick that burns ideological candle at both ends. He can have his TV Dinner and eat it too.
What I’m seeing here and reading pulls the curtain away from in front of this faux media ‘wizard’ to reveal that the whole thing is just more Hollywood payola-glitz, the DD/SOS celebrity ‘you-can’t-touch-me’ bull-shit.
So, it’s no mystery ‘why’ Trump invites Bill Maher over for a play date with the utterly untalented ‘Kid Rock’ & the other suck ups. It’s because Bill Maher dissing of Don in the past is just show biz. It’s a ‘how we do’ thing. In reality, HBO Bill here is just one of The wannabe strong-boy Donald’s guys.loI
should’ve seen this coming last week when we had Maher’s the coy little response to being asked after ‘the visit’ last what happened. Like some schlep that’s teasing the ending of the surprise next season of ‘Succession’. Maher gets all smile-for-the-camera flirty with his ‘I was there and I saw what I saw and I’m not gonna tell you what I saw’ riff.
It was a classic prime-time shot of hi-grade ‘FOMO I’m gonna make you look’ shit.
And here’s the punchline of the joke-right here in your article today-that ‘boy’s-only night out’ circle jerk photo.
What a nudge-nudge wink-wink fuck-fest. It’s like this is somehow all a big joke (on us-‘We the People’ who always end up PAYING for dinner) and Donny and his playmates are dining out all fancy on the ‘good’ chy-na-again, at our expense and they’re all in on it.
In some ways Trump is beyond belief dumb, but I’d never say he’s stupid when it comes to his knowing which celebrity whores he can play like a Stradivarius. It took me a New York nano-second to assess ‘Kid Rock’ as being one, and the great Bill Maher is revealed here in this picture and by his ‘oh, he’s not all that bad’ apologist horse-shit as absolutely being one of them. And then reading Maher’s pathetic apologetics, the whole thing is rendered into a Paganini set-dream performance.
Your article here has cured me of ever taking this jack-ass TV hack seriously ever again, because-you know what?-Al Gore is right. What is going on now is fucking EITHER/OR. I don’t need a jerk like Bill Maher in my space jerking the truth off in public while he lines his pockets with dollars paid for with the sanity of those stupid enough to fall for his bullshit.
What we forget (at least, I do) is that there is a long yardstick upon which to measure the nuances that can creep into someone's thoughts. For Maher, he is willing to become so impressed that Trump could be gracious and courteous during a private visit and so outlandish in public view, that it causes him to rethink his view of Trump! What? Maher thought Trump was authentic about anything? And now Maher thinks he knows Trump so well he can interpret for us what we see with our own eyes. Maher is revealing his willingness and ability to succumb to having been taken in. I shake my head. None are so blind as those who will not see. :-)
Maher wants to believe in the value of talking to people across the divide—that’s important but doesn’t actually work in this setting. Here he isn’t just humanizing Trump—he’s laundering the destruction Trump has caused to all of us and to the planet. When he describes Trump as gracious or thoughtful in that setting, without holding the weight of what Trump has done—ripping apart democratic norms, spreading cruelty, fear, and lies, enabling violence, undoing environmental protections, undermining trust in truth itself—it makes Trump seem like a well-intentioned, even reasonable person. And that’s the opposite of what he has shown himself to be, over and over. People need to understand that authoritarianism doesn’t always reveal itself, it often smiles and flatters, and wins people over socially before it crushes dissent politically. Maher’s effort here to model open-mindedness was naive and wholly destructive.
This pattern of charming others isn’t unique to Trump. People who spent time socially with Hitler or Putin often described them as calm, courteous, and even engaging. Hitler could be gentle and charming in private settings. Putin, too, is often composed and witty in person. But both are murderers and destroyers—men whose private charisma masked public brutality. That contrast is not comforting—it’s the method by which authoritarians get close enough to be believed, followed, and defended. Trump fits that mold—he can turn on the charm, make you feel heard, joke around—and meanwhile he’s working to dismantle freedom, truth, justice, and environmental survival.
We can choose not to be filled with hate—but we do need to remain clear about what we’re dealing with. Donald Trump is a toxic fusion of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Antisocial behavior, Paranoia, and Sadism, a man utterly devoid of empathy or conscience, driven by an insatiable need for admiration and dominance. His pathological lying is not incidental but strategic—crafted to confuse, control, and seduce, with no regard for truth or consequence. The sociopathy underlying his persona renders him immune to guilt or moral restraint, while his sadism finds expression in the pleasure he takes in cruelty, humiliation, and the suffering of others. At the same time, he is a masterful con artist—charismatic to the credulous, shamelessly manipulative, and astonishingly adept at exploiting the weaknesses of others for his own gain. Enabled from childhood by wealth, impunity, and sycophants, he has never been held accountable in any meaningful way, which has only deepened his belief in his own invincibility. The result is a profoundly dangerous individual whose greatest ability is to destroy everything he touches.
He is naive, no street smarts at all. He would be eaten alive in the prison system that is my wheelhouse. Weak and privileged. He does not understand what a psychopath is!!!
Thomas McGraw, Very well said!! I agree 100%. I was getting sick of Bill Maher and his steadfast refusal to ever acknowledge there was any value in the protests about Israel's comokete annihilation of Gaza and the outright murder if civilians, medical personnel, journalists, and aid workers by Israel's war machine.
I was suck of his mocking wokeness, and college students who dared to disagree with him, and Trans oblverreactikn. Now I'm done with him. I won't be turning his assholery about 'oh, Trump un private is genial and moderated and not what he seems on TV.
Yeah, I don't know about the positive attributes he said he saw in the evil monster who is intently destroying our democracy, stripping us of our constitutionally guaranteed rights, trashing the world economy as well as our own with his fatuous faith in tariffs or msybe he knows how he can profit offxtge coming troubles when shortages begin. Thus is all too frigging real.
Trump was a lousy failed businessman with offices so tacky they couldn't be used on The Apprentice.That fake reality show TV helped create this evil tyrant. As did Roy Cohn, one of the worst , most destructive and most hypocritical politicians in ALL of American history.So we already knew he is not what he appears to be.
I hope Maher's show is canceled, you know, because I'm woke and all thst, he will say.
But that's not it.
It's because this is a full fledged crisis which is getting worse. And Al Gore hit it out of the ballpark with his assessment of what's happening.
Bill, go smoke some more weed, smirk the same kind of smirk your new bestie smirks, as he's basically daring ANYOznE to stop him from his gluttonous, ruinous rampage. Maher is a joke and a has-been, in my opinion. Not nearly as clever, sophisticated, and aloof from it all as he seems to think
If he can't sew hiw his little trek to Mar A Lago Iwas a success for our Conman in Chief, maybe on some subjects he really is as clueless and our Idiot in Chief.
Three children from two different families were deported with their mothers by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the early hours of Friday, April 25th.
One of them is a 4-year-old stricken with cancer who was deported without medication or the ability to contact doctors.
This is where the fine line is being crossed and where we used to take pride in the fact that we treated kids with cancer instead of sending them to certain death.
When the foreword explosion happened in Mexico Shriners of Houston, TX went and got the severely burned children and treated the, they also brought family member to be with the child. This is who we are and an important part of America. I am sickened at the fact that Stephen Miller is trying and appears to be succeeding in dismantling it under the guise of terrorizm and criminals
Well said. I just feel Maher was going to Trump to save his job at HBO. It has all the ear marks of the trickle down effect of what has become of mega media and pleasing the real leaders, media oligarchs. Just like in Germany, get in line or get shot.
I too am a BM fan and thought his account of his WH meal was disingenuous. He got played as a putz wearing the jester’s cap with bells. He did remind us that “he’s just a comedian”. Got it. And, btw Larry David (also a big fan of mine) parodied the account of this meal brilliantly in his piece. Remember, he too is just a comedian….
Your piece Steve is spot-on! And, you are not a comedian. I wish more Americans would heed this warning that you have succinctly outlined here. It’s time to notice that our freedoms (speech, due process) are being impinged upon. Wake Up, America…..
I have learned much on reading Steve Schmidt’s site. I have learned many talking points that have helped me to explain to my family and friends and community on what’s going on now. You can’t claim to have a complete understanding of what’s going n in America until you read different perspectives does Steve Schmidt have all the answers? No he does not( never claimed he did) yet he has a brilliant talent to explain life on a different note. A note that Americans have never heard
Bill Maher is so full of himself he is willing to play down how evil the Maga movement and its leaders are. IMO, he wants to be certain he continues to hold a position of influence and power in the Amerika envisioned by Trump and Project 2025.
I am no longer a fan of Maher. If only George Carlin were still among us. Do you think he would put personal interest in remaining among the powerful before his integrity?
I hope Steve sent Mr. Maher a copy of Goebbels updated 1932 speech.
A friend sent me the BM piece last week. I was appalled, and then terrified.
If an often astute man invites himself to a facist’s dinner table, and describes the occasion as a positive thing because the fascist was nice to him, because he and the fascist talked like civilized men, (about nothing of consequence), then it should be no surprise that less astute people cannot see the monster that is maga.
How so many people are in a state of magical thinking, (thank you Bishop Barber for the Pope Francis quote), may be what terrifies me most in this moment.
Bill Maher is no different than most people who voted for Trump. They pick one or two anecdotes to explain or rationalize and then overlook the obvious malice, cruelty, criminality and dismantling.
I believe that for years, I have been saying in fewer words what Steve says here. I say it like this: Just because Trump and his minions have not finished the job doesn’t mean he is not the next Hitler. The start of the larger pattern is there. It is a matter of knowing history. Bill Maher is funny, but like Trump, he is an attention hoar. I don’t get my opinions of Trump, or any other political figure from comedians.
“I'm just reporting exactly what I saw over two and a half hours. I went into the mine, and that's what's down there. A crazy person doesn't live in the White House. A person who plays a crazy person on TV a lot lives there, which I know is (expletive) up. It's just not as (expletive) up as I thought it was. And I have no illusions now that I'm back to work at my job that he might start a new list…”
100% agree Steve! Bill Maher doesn’t get it; mostly because he’s also an egocentric narcissist with delusions of grandeur. Seriously, he took a bow for getting Trump to sign a piece of paper stating all the nasty things Trump said about him over the years? Congratulations Bill, it’s time for your Noble Prize in Peace, and the cover of Time Magazine! BRAVO!
That said, Maher lost me when he had Kid Rock in the show, and he went off on liberals because apparently in the Barbie Movie, they claimed that Mattel didn’t have any women on the board; in real life there are five women on the board.
News flash Bill, ITS A MOVIE ABOUT A BARBIE DOLL THAT COMES TO LIFE! The way Bill sees it, you’d think the DNC produced the movie and it represents real life. However, the moral is true, 90% of board rooms are filled with white males, and women continually find their rights under attack. Just see the Dobb’s decision, and all the women dying of miscarriages in red states, because they can’t get proper treatment.
Lastly, like I said yesterday, while all Nazi’s are fascist, not all fascists are Nazi’s. We can continue to call Trump a fascist because he, and his policies are the epitome of the definition. And while Trump may not be a Hitler yet, the parallels are quite obvious.
And I think we can all agree that a sense of urgency needs to happen now. Trump is losing much of his appeal. His poll numbers are down, and the markets are still volatile.
Furthermore, what people need to understand in regard to the equity and bond markets, is the fact that the smart money is staying quiet. They are carefully decoupling from US investments as to not cause a complete meltdown. However, our economy is about to get worse. Empty shelves at grocery and retail stores, as well as a major loss of tourism in the summer months will lead to either slow GDP growth for the second and third quarters, or negative growth. Either way, we’re headed for stagflation, so invest wisely. IMHO!…:)
The Barbie rant was just illustrative of the Left/Dem bashing Maher has been engaging in for years now. Rather than focusing on the very real danger and harms building on the right, he was intent on amplifying cherry-picked examples of some [admittedly] over-the-top behavior by a small number of extremists on the left into an indictment of the whole party and its positions. Meanwhile the Heritage Foundation, Federalist Society, Project 2025 planners, right wing media ecosphere and a genuinely radicalized party were given scant condemnation. This is how he found common ground with Musk, as they bonded over their shared disdain for the "woke mind virus." While I think he truly, gullibly believes he saw the "real" Trump in the staged encounter, he was played by the master conman. Trump got the outcome he wanted: a favorable diagnosis from a perceived enemy. That lack of insight by someone who has long been a Trump critic is both stunning and totally in keeping with his personal evolution in recent years. Maher would be astounded to face the reality that he has changed, but he unlikely will.
I disagree that Larry David’s piece in the NYT was “frivolous and empty.” It was satirical and I am glad he did it. Also, the woman who played his ex-wife in the tv series did not publish statements declaring that DT is actually normal. In fact, I haven’t heard her say anything. What Bill Maher did is similar to what happened with those who attended the Olympics in 1936. They came away believing that Hitler and National Socialism wasn’t so bad; it was normal.
Yes the MAGAs are Nazis. If Bill Maher can’t see that, then his intelligence is declining. I have been a fan of his in years past, but he seems to be losing it.
Of all the wonderful reactions to Steve Schmidt’s typically ingenious and fair assessment of Bill Maher’s latest turn towards fascism, I agree most with this specific comment!
Watching Marco this morning on Face the Nation showing zero compassion for separating a four-year old US citizen with cancer from his mom, says it all!
Also as a turned-off fan of Maher, I began noticing this streak of similar cruel intolerance in constantly attacking women wearing Burkhas over the years, as part of his general anti-Muslim stance (ostensibly in reaction to terrorism and support of equality).
Several episodes ago, he could not give Bernie and AOC any credit for their highly effective promotion of american democracy and basic decency.
Would he dare invite Steve Schmidt on his show these days? I doubt it!
Steve, I have to disagree with you abut Larry David’s editorial being “frivolous and empty!” I thought that it was appropriate and right on the money, and really made people perform the comparison in their mind. I’m not a Bill Maher fan nor will I ever be and vow never to watch him for bending the knee in Mar-a-Lago. Just like I quit watching Morning Joe for the same reason. Visiting “The King” is done for selfish self-preserving reasons! Yes, Larry David is just a comedian but comedians analyze people and write about life. I think that many comedians know best what makes people tick! I urge people to go back and watch some George Carlin. It’s almost as he was a prophet the way that he describes how politicians and oligarchs have control over our fate.
Bill Maher and the entire American media circus will never lead us to anything but more conflict. Walt Whitman said that America needed great literateurs to light the way, or capitalism and democracy would devolve into a value-less show. We need them today more than ever.
I seriously doubt Trump or any of his sycophants would be willing to die for this country. They would be ecstatic to make "others" die, though. You have a knack for speaking to current events that makes my skin crawl. Thank you for being so outspoken. I, for one, agree with those that say we cannot wait for 2026. (And 2028 is clearly not going to be an election year if DJT has his way. It will be the year that ends free and fair elections in the new Trumpica.) Somehow, someway we must overcome MAGA and Trump before nukes fly and the USA crumbles to rubble in a shitstorm of terror. We must.
I’m in your group. We cannot wait for 2026, the way things are going now, the jackbooted thugs will have 1000s of protesters locked up in camps, & many citizens will have been killed.
How the hell did Dubya win the election over a man like Al Gore? Actually, he didn't, or wouldn't have, if not for the undemocratic electoral college and a Supreme Court that favored him.
Well done, Steve. However, I differ on your assessment of Larry David’s column. Just as you deployed your skill set as a public intellectual, David effectively deployed his as a humorist. Both of you communicate the parallels between Trump and Hitler….and their seductive, private charm. You haven’t fallen for it —Maher did.
Steve, your "editing" of Joseph Goebbels' “The Storm is Coming,” speech is a masterpiece! BTW, I never liked Bill Maher for his smarmy delivery, but his comments on Trump have turned my dislike into outright loathing. He obviously bought into another "performance" by the Chamelion-In-Chief.
I can't stand Bill Maher's fascist drivel anymore.
Amen!
Yes, he also worked very hard for years, denigrating, attacking, and humiliating Christians and other theists. The effect of his actions was to communicate to us that the left does not like us; they hate and ridicule us. This forced many away from the left-leaning political sphere. Similarly, his 'woke crusade' converted, or at least led many to support, the right. He has showcased a number of right-wing extremist figures, giving them legitimacy and effectively normalizing their views. He is part of the group of 'poison peddlers' who have harmed the nation, perhaps out of blindness, deliberately. His on time million-dollar donation, was in in the past.
Its a shame that all ideas are polarized and "labeled" as left or right with the implication that one must support or deny them collectively... no room to pick and choose one's causes from a menu. Life is just not that simple. It makes it easy for someone like Maher to poison the well.
My experience is that Maher fights back against these extreme right wing fascists who dare to go on his show. He may agree with them on one or two points, but most of his interviews showcase their specious arguments, their lies, their ignorance and their utter moral failures.
Every single RW nutjob he 'showcases' have ample opportunities to express their free speech elsewhere in other forums. What he does is provide them additional space to spread their poison and lies, feeding them with the attention they thrive on and in the process giving legitimacy and some acceptably to them.
Thank you
No. Maher is at the table, smiling and proud. The visual says it all.
Well done! I couldn't agree more
Maher and this comes to us from the corrupt American media circus. Let’s turn it all off. Try reading Walt Whitman’s Democratic Vistas. Here’s a place for inspiration way more relevant than even de Tocqueville.
Everything trump and MAGA says and does is from that playbook that Steve just demonstrated. There’s nothing new here. It’s devastating that people have either forgotten or never learned the history that is repeating itself and writ large.
We have become too dependent on getting spoon fed information from social media, influencers, etc. to put the effort into getting facts and information so we can form our own opinions.
Yes
First off-I’m a slow study. I read Larry David’s NYT ‘My Dinner With Adolf’ article and didn’t connect the dots. Sometimes I forget that context is everything. To Mr. David: the article was a Jalen Brunson dagger three with the buzzer going off. You know that’s the case as it seems that poor Bill was-um-a little nonplussed by it.
And now I will say ‘Thank you, Steve Schmidt’ for this measured article that exposes the self serving duplicitousness of Bill Maher, who bottom line, is all about himself.
Maher is a 21st Century version of William F. Buckley. He sits there slouched in his armchair, bring paid stupid money to hold court-oozing the same sort of sticky entitlement laden privilege that left me feeling like I needed a damp washcloth to clean myself off when I’d watch Buckley spin his ‘I’m better than all the ‘little’ people schtick back in the day.
And now this stuff erases all doubt. These two Bills are brothers from different mothers. Bottom line for Maher-he’s just-plain and simple-capital S Show trash, but instead of the snotty New England Wasp pedigree, it’s the smarmy Hollywood Royalty thing.
Every so often m, as with Bill Buckley, I’ve been tempted to take Maher seriously. He uses his high paid platform to make himself seem relevant. He pitches being that guy. The guy who can get away with selling a schtick that burns ideological candle at both ends. He can have his TV Dinner and eat it too.
What I’m seeing here and reading pulls the curtain away from in front of this faux media ‘wizard’ to reveal that the whole thing is just more Hollywood payola-glitz, the DD/SOS celebrity ‘you-can’t-touch-me’ bull-shit.
So, it’s no mystery ‘why’ Trump invites Bill Maher over for a play date with the utterly untalented ‘Kid Rock’ & the other suck ups. It’s because Bill Maher dissing of Don in the past is just show biz. It’s a ‘how we do’ thing. In reality, HBO Bill here is just one of The wannabe strong-boy Donald’s guys.loI
should’ve seen this coming last week when we had Maher’s the coy little response to being asked after ‘the visit’ last what happened. Like some schlep that’s teasing the ending of the surprise next season of ‘Succession’. Maher gets all smile-for-the-camera flirty with his ‘I was there and I saw what I saw and I’m not gonna tell you what I saw’ riff.
It was a classic prime-time shot of hi-grade ‘FOMO I’m gonna make you look’ shit.
And here’s the punchline of the joke-right here in your article today-that ‘boy’s-only night out’ circle jerk photo.
What a nudge-nudge wink-wink fuck-fest. It’s like this is somehow all a big joke (on us-‘We the People’ who always end up PAYING for dinner) and Donny and his playmates are dining out all fancy on the ‘good’ chy-na-again, at our expense and they’re all in on it.
In some ways Trump is beyond belief dumb, but I’d never say he’s stupid when it comes to his knowing which celebrity whores he can play like a Stradivarius. It took me a New York nano-second to assess ‘Kid Rock’ as being one, and the great Bill Maher is revealed here in this picture and by his ‘oh, he’s not all that bad’ apologist horse-shit as absolutely being one of them. And then reading Maher’s pathetic apologetics, the whole thing is rendered into a Paganini set-dream performance.
Your article here has cured me of ever taking this jack-ass TV hack seriously ever again, because-you know what?-Al Gore is right. What is going on now is fucking EITHER/OR. I don’t need a jerk like Bill Maher in my space jerking the truth off in public while he lines his pockets with dollars paid for with the sanity of those stupid enough to fall for his bullshit.
What we forget (at least, I do) is that there is a long yardstick upon which to measure the nuances that can creep into someone's thoughts. For Maher, he is willing to become so impressed that Trump could be gracious and courteous during a private visit and so outlandish in public view, that it causes him to rethink his view of Trump! What? Maher thought Trump was authentic about anything? And now Maher thinks he knows Trump so well he can interpret for us what we see with our own eyes. Maher is revealing his willingness and ability to succumb to having been taken in. I shake my head. None are so blind as those who will not see. :-)
Maher wants to believe in the value of talking to people across the divide—that’s important but doesn’t actually work in this setting. Here he isn’t just humanizing Trump—he’s laundering the destruction Trump has caused to all of us and to the planet. When he describes Trump as gracious or thoughtful in that setting, without holding the weight of what Trump has done—ripping apart democratic norms, spreading cruelty, fear, and lies, enabling violence, undoing environmental protections, undermining trust in truth itself—it makes Trump seem like a well-intentioned, even reasonable person. And that’s the opposite of what he has shown himself to be, over and over. People need to understand that authoritarianism doesn’t always reveal itself, it often smiles and flatters, and wins people over socially before it crushes dissent politically. Maher’s effort here to model open-mindedness was naive and wholly destructive.
This pattern of charming others isn’t unique to Trump. People who spent time socially with Hitler or Putin often described them as calm, courteous, and even engaging. Hitler could be gentle and charming in private settings. Putin, too, is often composed and witty in person. But both are murderers and destroyers—men whose private charisma masked public brutality. That contrast is not comforting—it’s the method by which authoritarians get close enough to be believed, followed, and defended. Trump fits that mold—he can turn on the charm, make you feel heard, joke around—and meanwhile he’s working to dismantle freedom, truth, justice, and environmental survival.
We can choose not to be filled with hate—but we do need to remain clear about what we’re dealing with. Donald Trump is a toxic fusion of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Antisocial behavior, Paranoia, and Sadism, a man utterly devoid of empathy or conscience, driven by an insatiable need for admiration and dominance. His pathological lying is not incidental but strategic—crafted to confuse, control, and seduce, with no regard for truth or consequence. The sociopathy underlying his persona renders him immune to guilt or moral restraint, while his sadism finds expression in the pleasure he takes in cruelty, humiliation, and the suffering of others. At the same time, he is a masterful con artist—charismatic to the credulous, shamelessly manipulative, and astonishingly adept at exploiting the weaknesses of others for his own gain. Enabled from childhood by wealth, impunity, and sycophants, he has never been held accountable in any meaningful way, which has only deepened his belief in his own invincibility. The result is a profoundly dangerous individual whose greatest ability is to destroy everything he touches.
Agree completely, to humanize trump is more than a disservice, it is dangerous. Maher fell completely under the spell of a master manipulator.
Amen to that last sentence there-a drop the mic statement for sure.
He is naive, no street smarts at all. He would be eaten alive in the prison system that is my wheelhouse. Weak and privileged. He does not understand what a psychopath is!!!
"And now Maher thinks he knows Trump so well he can interpret for us what we see with our own eyes."
Our own lying eyes? I don't think so!
I agree 💯 % and have stopped watching his show - can’t stand to look at him.
Thank you for this.
OOH! Well said Mr. McGraw - you nailed it.
Thomas McGraw, Very well said!! I agree 100%. I was getting sick of Bill Maher and his steadfast refusal to ever acknowledge there was any value in the protests about Israel's comokete annihilation of Gaza and the outright murder if civilians, medical personnel, journalists, and aid workers by Israel's war machine.
I was suck of his mocking wokeness, and college students who dared to disagree with him, and Trans oblverreactikn. Now I'm done with him. I won't be turning his assholery about 'oh, Trump un private is genial and moderated and not what he seems on TV.
Yeah, I don't know about the positive attributes he said he saw in the evil monster who is intently destroying our democracy, stripping us of our constitutionally guaranteed rights, trashing the world economy as well as our own with his fatuous faith in tariffs or msybe he knows how he can profit offxtge coming troubles when shortages begin. Thus is all too frigging real.
Trump was a lousy failed businessman with offices so tacky they couldn't be used on The Apprentice.That fake reality show TV helped create this evil tyrant. As did Roy Cohn, one of the worst , most destructive and most hypocritical politicians in ALL of American history.So we already knew he is not what he appears to be.
I hope Maher's show is canceled, you know, because I'm woke and all thst, he will say.
But that's not it.
It's because this is a full fledged crisis which is getting worse. And Al Gore hit it out of the ballpark with his assessment of what's happening.
Bill, go smoke some more weed, smirk the same kind of smirk your new bestie smirks, as he's basically daring ANYOznE to stop him from his gluttonous, ruinous rampage. Maher is a joke and a has-been, in my opinion. Not nearly as clever, sophisticated, and aloof from it all as he seems to think
If he can't sew hiw his little trek to Mar A Lago Iwas a success for our Conman in Chief, maybe on some subjects he really is as clueless and our Idiot in Chief.
BRAVO...you hit the nail on the head....like a laser guided heat seeking Tomahawk missile...I shared this everywhere.
These three children are United States citizens.
Three children from two different families were deported with their mothers by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the early hours of Friday, April 25th.
One of them is a 4-year-old stricken with cancer who was deported without medication or the ability to contact doctors.
This is where the fine line is being crossed and where we used to take pride in the fact that we treated kids with cancer instead of sending them to certain death.
When the foreword explosion happened in Mexico Shriners of Houston, TX went and got the severely burned children and treated the, they also brought family member to be with the child. This is who we are and an important part of America. I am sickened at the fact that Stephen Miller is trying and appears to be succeeding in dismantling it under the guise of terrorizm and criminals
Well said. I just feel Maher was going to Trump to save his job at HBO. It has all the ear marks of the trickle down effect of what has become of mega media and pleasing the real leaders, media oligarchs. Just like in Germany, get in line or get shot.
I'm boycotting his HBO show.
I won't watch it.
and I won't buy Teslas.
Does that make me anti-American woke?
It makes you a thoughtful and admirable person.
Solidarity is the enemy of the oligarchy.
Anyone can join
Hell no! That makes you a Patriot!
I too am a BM fan and thought his account of his WH meal was disingenuous. He got played as a putz wearing the jester’s cap with bells. He did remind us that “he’s just a comedian”. Got it. And, btw Larry David (also a big fan of mine) parodied the account of this meal brilliantly in his piece. Remember, he too is just a comedian….
Your piece Steve is spot-on! And, you are not a comedian. I wish more Americans would heed this warning that you have succinctly outlined here. It’s time to notice that our freedoms (speech, due process) are being impinged upon. Wake Up, America…..
I have learned much on reading Steve Schmidt’s site. I have learned many talking points that have helped me to explain to my family and friends and community on what’s going on now. You can’t claim to have a complete understanding of what’s going n in America until you read different perspectives does Steve Schmidt have all the answers? No he does not( never claimed he did) yet he has a brilliant talent to explain life on a different note. A note that Americans have never heard
Bill Maher is so full of himself he is willing to play down how evil the Maga movement and its leaders are. IMO, he wants to be certain he continues to hold a position of influence and power in the Amerika envisioned by Trump and Project 2025.
I am no longer a fan of Maher. If only George Carlin were still among us. Do you think he would put personal interest in remaining among the powerful before his integrity?
I hope Steve sent Mr. Maher a copy of Goebbels updated 1932 speech.
A friend sent me the BM piece last week. I was appalled, and then terrified.
If an often astute man invites himself to a facist’s dinner table, and describes the occasion as a positive thing because the fascist was nice to him, because he and the fascist talked like civilized men, (about nothing of consequence), then it should be no surprise that less astute people cannot see the monster that is maga.
How so many people are in a state of magical thinking, (thank you Bishop Barber for the Pope Francis quote), may be what terrifies me most in this moment.
Correction; he was invited by trump. Not that it really matters but the German in me (the Enlightnment branch) believes in accuracy.
Bill Maher is not a good man.
His bitter because they wouldn't let him speech at college campuses.
Bill Maher is no different than most people who voted for Trump. They pick one or two anecdotes to explain or rationalize and then overlook the obvious malice, cruelty, criminality and dismantling.
I believe that for years, I have been saying in fewer words what Steve says here. I say it like this: Just because Trump and his minions have not finished the job doesn’t mean he is not the next Hitler. The start of the larger pattern is there. It is a matter of knowing history. Bill Maher is funny, but like Trump, he is an attention hoar. I don’t get my opinions of Trump, or any other political figure from comedians.
“I'm just reporting exactly what I saw over two and a half hours. I went into the mine, and that's what's down there. A crazy person doesn't live in the White House. A person who plays a crazy person on TV a lot lives there, which I know is (expletive) up. It's just not as (expletive) up as I thought it was. And I have no illusions now that I'm back to work at my job that he might start a new list…”
100% agree Steve! Bill Maher doesn’t get it; mostly because he’s also an egocentric narcissist with delusions of grandeur. Seriously, he took a bow for getting Trump to sign a piece of paper stating all the nasty things Trump said about him over the years? Congratulations Bill, it’s time for your Noble Prize in Peace, and the cover of Time Magazine! BRAVO!
That said, Maher lost me when he had Kid Rock in the show, and he went off on liberals because apparently in the Barbie Movie, they claimed that Mattel didn’t have any women on the board; in real life there are five women on the board.
News flash Bill, ITS A MOVIE ABOUT A BARBIE DOLL THAT COMES TO LIFE! The way Bill sees it, you’d think the DNC produced the movie and it represents real life. However, the moral is true, 90% of board rooms are filled with white males, and women continually find their rights under attack. Just see the Dobb’s decision, and all the women dying of miscarriages in red states, because they can’t get proper treatment.
Lastly, like I said yesterday, while all Nazi’s are fascist, not all fascists are Nazi’s. We can continue to call Trump a fascist because he, and his policies are the epitome of the definition. And while Trump may not be a Hitler yet, the parallels are quite obvious.
And I think we can all agree that a sense of urgency needs to happen now. Trump is losing much of his appeal. His poll numbers are down, and the markets are still volatile.
Furthermore, what people need to understand in regard to the equity and bond markets, is the fact that the smart money is staying quiet. They are carefully decoupling from US investments as to not cause a complete meltdown. However, our economy is about to get worse. Empty shelves at grocery and retail stores, as well as a major loss of tourism in the summer months will lead to either slow GDP growth for the second and third quarters, or negative growth. Either way, we’re headed for stagflation, so invest wisely. IMHO!…:)
The Barbie rant was just illustrative of the Left/Dem bashing Maher has been engaging in for years now. Rather than focusing on the very real danger and harms building on the right, he was intent on amplifying cherry-picked examples of some [admittedly] over-the-top behavior by a small number of extremists on the left into an indictment of the whole party and its positions. Meanwhile the Heritage Foundation, Federalist Society, Project 2025 planners, right wing media ecosphere and a genuinely radicalized party were given scant condemnation. This is how he found common ground with Musk, as they bonded over their shared disdain for the "woke mind virus." While I think he truly, gullibly believes he saw the "real" Trump in the staged encounter, he was played by the master conman. Trump got the outcome he wanted: a favorable diagnosis from a perceived enemy. That lack of insight by someone who has long been a Trump critic is both stunning and totally in keeping with his personal evolution in recent years. Maher would be astounded to face the reality that he has changed, but he unlikely will.
This! Well done…:)
I agree, but if Americans thought they could get a break on their taxes, they’d kill the Indians again.
I disagree that Larry David’s piece in the NYT was “frivolous and empty.” It was satirical and I am glad he did it. Also, the woman who played his ex-wife in the tv series did not publish statements declaring that DT is actually normal. In fact, I haven’t heard her say anything. What Bill Maher did is similar to what happened with those who attended the Olympics in 1936. They came away believing that Hitler and National Socialism wasn’t so bad; it was normal.
Yes the MAGAs are Nazis. If Bill Maher can’t see that, then his intelligence is declining. I have been a fan of his in years past, but he seems to be losing it.
Of all the wonderful reactions to Steve Schmidt’s typically ingenious and fair assessment of Bill Maher’s latest turn towards fascism, I agree most with this specific comment!
Watching Marco this morning on Face the Nation showing zero compassion for separating a four-year old US citizen with cancer from his mom, says it all!
Also as a turned-off fan of Maher, I began noticing this streak of similar cruel intolerance in constantly attacking women wearing Burkhas over the years, as part of his general anti-Muslim stance (ostensibly in reaction to terrorism and support of equality).
Several episodes ago, he could not give Bernie and AOC any credit for their highly effective promotion of american democracy and basic decency.
Would he dare invite Steve Schmidt on his show these days? I doubt it!
Steve, I have to disagree with you abut Larry David’s editorial being “frivolous and empty!” I thought that it was appropriate and right on the money, and really made people perform the comparison in their mind. I’m not a Bill Maher fan nor will I ever be and vow never to watch him for bending the knee in Mar-a-Lago. Just like I quit watching Morning Joe for the same reason. Visiting “The King” is done for selfish self-preserving reasons! Yes, Larry David is just a comedian but comedians analyze people and write about life. I think that many comedians know best what makes people tick! I urge people to go back and watch some George Carlin. It’s almost as he was a prophet the way that he describes how politicians and oligarchs have control over our fate.
Bill Maher and the entire American media circus will never lead us to anything but more conflict. Walt Whitman said that America needed great literateurs to light the way, or capitalism and democracy would devolve into a value-less show. We need them today more than ever.
I seriously doubt Trump or any of his sycophants would be willing to die for this country. They would be ecstatic to make "others" die, though. You have a knack for speaking to current events that makes my skin crawl. Thank you for being so outspoken. I, for one, agree with those that say we cannot wait for 2026. (And 2028 is clearly not going to be an election year if DJT has his way. It will be the year that ends free and fair elections in the new Trumpica.) Somehow, someway we must overcome MAGA and Trump before nukes fly and the USA crumbles to rubble in a shitstorm of terror. We must.
I’m in your group. We cannot wait for 2026, the way things are going now, the jackbooted thugs will have 1000s of protesters locked up in camps, & many citizens will have been killed.
How the hell did Dubya win the election over a man like Al Gore? Actually, he didn't, or wouldn't have, if not for the undemocratic electoral college and a Supreme Court that favored him.
I ask again. What is wrong with this country?
Well done, Steve. However, I differ on your assessment of Larry David’s column. Just as you deployed your skill set as a public intellectual, David effectively deployed his as a humorist. Both of you communicate the parallels between Trump and Hitler….and their seductive, private charm. You haven’t fallen for it —Maher did.