Leftists attack Bill Maher for honestly recounting his meeting with Trump

How dare he undermine their cartoonish version of the president

Comedian Bill Maher is under fire from the left after he reported favorably about his visit to Donald Trump at the White House. Maher said Trump was gracious and measured; that he listened to what Maher had to say; and that he responded well, not angrily, to Maher’s criticism and jokes at Trump’s expense. Maher added that although he voted for Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, he didn’t think either president would have given Maher as much time (three hours) and as much camaraderie as Trump did.

“A crazy person doesn’t live in the White House,” Maher concluded. “A person who plays a crazy person on TV a lot lives there.”

Before describing the meeting on his show, Maher predicted that liberals would hate what he was about to say. Liberals did not disappoint.

According to the Washington Post, “social media forums devoted to Maher’s program were filled with laments, such as a Reddit thread with the title ‘I think I’m out,’ as fans said they planned to stop watching his program.” The Post itself published an op-ed by a Mexican journalist complaining that Maher “got played” by Trump. He reminded readers that Castro, Stalin, and Mao all could come across as human and even warm.

The criticism is off-base. Maher had an obligation to report his meeting with Trump honestly. There is no evidence that he did otherwise.

If there’s a legitimate question here, it’s why Maher agreed to meet with Trump. After all, the two have been attacking each other for years, and Trump continued to do so in the days before their meeting.

But I doubt that any but the most severe left-liberal critics of Trump would have passed up the opportunity to find out what Trump is like in person and to discuss policy with him. (I couldn’t stand Barack Obama’s presidency but certainly would have relished the opportunity to talk with him.) And unlike most of those who are attacking Maher for his visit, the comedian is not a left-liberal these days.

Did Trump “play” Maher? Not in any strong sense. During the same show in which he described the visit, Maher stated, “it doesn’t matter who [Trump] is at a private dinner with a comedian; it matters who he is on the world stage.” And throughout the show Maher strongly criticized Trump, just as he’s been doing all along.

The Mexican journalist frets that “by harping on the supposed normalcy of Trump in a private setting, Maher has sown the seeds of doubt in his viewers’ minds.”

How could a likable and “self-aware” man, who was much more attentive than other public figures Maher has met, be running roughshod over civil rights and threatening the country’s constitutional order?

This is the kind of snobbish, patronizing statement that has helped fuel the rise of Trump and the contempt we rightly feel towards many lefty journalists. All that’s new here is that the Mexican journalist is insulting the intelligence of the (mostly) left-liberals who make up Maher’s audience, not the “deplorables” who vote Republican.

Maher’s audience can hold two ideas at the same time, especially when, as the journalist acknowledges, the ideas are not inconsistent. They don’t need to be protected from honest reporting about what Trump was like when Maher visited him.

I don’t even think Maher got played in the weaker sense of being snowed by a side of Trump that doesn’t exist. The fact is that Trump can be gracious and listen to those who disagree with him.

Think about those public meetings Trump held during his first term with leaders from both parties, such as the one about immigration. Trump was not confrontational during these meetings. (Unlike Obama, who attacked Paul Ryan and was far from gracious to John McCain during similar public meetings.) He listened carefully and politely to all comers. Then, he did what he wanted.

In a similar, but private setting, I know of a case in which a conservative activist met with Trump to discuss a reform the activist strongly opposed. Trump was engaged and polite. He praised the activist’s command of the subject and acknowledged the force of some points made against the reform. He even chided the White House aide pushing the reform, who was also present. Then, he went ahead with the reform.

In fact, I don’t think Trump is usually confrontational in small, face-to-face settings. Even during that awful meeting with Zelensky, it was the Vice President, not Trump, who triggered the fireworks.

Left-liberals have never understood the rise of Trump. To be fair, I haven’t fully understood it, either. But I suspect that his human side — or perhaps more accurately his opponents’ unwillingness to recognize that he has one — has played some part in Trump’s success.

Think of his appearance at that McDonald’s in Pennsylvania just before the election. It wasn’t just that Trump served meals, it was also that he knows how to talk to people. That ability, and the contrast to Kamala Harris in this regard, must have been an asset in a fairly close election.

“Know your enemy” is always good advice. Trump’s enemies would be better off if they understood that Trump has a civil and even a gracious side. Instead, they want to shoot Bill Maher, the unlikely messenger.