Liberal talk show host Bill Maher argued that liberals who usually politicize the tragedy remain silent when it comes to blaming Democratic leaders.
Many Californians, including celebrities, have lost their homes in the Pacific Palisades area as wildfires rage 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, local According to officials.
While LA Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom drew some criticism for their handling before and during the devastating fires, Maher argued in a TMZ interview 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.
The phone numbers Los Angeles-area residents need and how you can help them
“I’m with people who want to hold politicians accountable,” Maher told the news outlet.
The comedian highlighted that many liberals say, “We shouldn’t be talking about it anymore,” describing them as “hypocrites.”
“It’s so funny to hear that come out of liberals’ mouths, because they hate it when conservatives say that after a gun tragedy, which conservatives always say after a mass shooting. ‘This is not the time to do politics.’ And then It never is,” Maher said. “It’s absolutely time to talk about it.”
While he said there are other factors that make some level of disaster inevitable, such as global warming, he stood by his statement that “mistakes” had been made.
“Was it always going to be bad? Of course,” Maher said. “Their arguments aren’t wrong. We built a city in a terrible place to build a city. Global warming absolutely warms things and makes the weather worse. The winds were ridiculous. Yes, I get all that. And they made a lot of mistakes, too.”
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A helicopter drops water on the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills section of Los Angeles on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (Ethan Swope/AP)
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Maher added that “if you hold Bush responsible for Katrina” then “you have to have some intellectual integrity to criticize your team when they don’t get it right. And they’ve had a long time to earn that right.”
The HBO host also emphasized that somehow such disasters “always seem to be the worst” — a sign that more should be expected of leaders.
“I think we should demand better,” Maher argued.