Bill Maher calls universities ‘indoctrination factories' as he backs Trump’s push to reform higher ed
WASHINGTON, DC: Comedian and talk show host Bill Maher has come out in defense of President Donald Trump’s battle against America’s elite universities, accusing higher education institutions of becoming “indoctrination factories” in desperate need of a wake-up call.
On the latest episode of HBO’s 'Real Time with Bill Maher,' the outspoken host made it clear he disagrees with Trump’s tactics, such as cutting federal funding, but said he shares the concerns driving the effort. Maher echoed Republican criticisms that college campuses have become hotbeds of leftist ideology, with little room for dissenting or conservative viewpoints, what Trump and others have labeled as the rise of “woke” culture in academia.
Bill Maher supports Donald Trump’s push to reform American universities
On the August 1 episode of HBO’s 'Real Time,' Bill Maher responded to a viewer’s question about President Donald Trump’s push to reform American universities.
Maher didn’t hold back, saying, “Academia needed a hot poker up the a** our universities have been out of control for a long time. They became indoctrination factories... There's absolutely no diversity of thought.”
To provide context, Trump has launched an aggressive campaign against top US colleges, targeting issues like antisemitism, DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) policies, and the lack of intellectual diversity on campuses. As part of his efforts to force reforms, Trump withheld billions of dollars in federal research funding from prestigious institutions such as Columbia, Harvard, and Yale.
These actions came amid a surge in antisemitic incidents on college campuses following the October 7 Hamas attack. At the same time, research shows that intellectual diversity continues to decline, with liberals significantly outnumbering conservatives in academic settings.
Trump later restored funding to Columbia University after the school agreed to a settlement with his administration, paying over $221 million to resolve multiple federal civil rights investigations, including $21 million specifically to address antisemitism complaints.
The administration described the agreement as the largest antisemitism settlement in US history. As part of the deal, Columbia also agreed to implement a series of reforms aimed at combating discrimination and antisemitism on campus.
Bill Maher questions professors who celebrated the violence
While Bill Maher disagreed with the idea of withholding federal research funding from universities, he argued that America’s higher education system has grown deeply anti-American and morally detached.
He criticized professors for living in what he described as “ivory towers,” insulated from real-world values and increasingly out of touch with basic decency.
Maher pointed to disturbing reactions from some faculty members after the October 7 Hamas attack, questioning why certain professors publicly celebrated the violence.
“Why do you think they erupted so many of them in cheers for what happened on October 7?” he asked. “Why do you have professors coming out there and saying they were exhilarated by this mass massacre of people? Okay, that didn't happen overnight, you know, they're ivory towers, and also they're just very Anti-America.”
The 'Real Time' host also condemned universities for their growing intolerance of free speech, especially toward conservative viewpoints. He argued that many campuses now treat right-leaning ideas as unacceptable. “You cannot speak the other side of the coin,” Maher said. “When conservative thought, whatever you think of it. It's just verboten, which is basically what happened.”
Maher concluded by saying that something has been "rotten" in American higher education for a long time, and that the lack of ideological balance has created an unhealthy academic culture.
Internet supports Bill Maher and Donald Trump on university reform
After news broke that Bill Maher defended President Trump’s push to reform American universities, social media quickly flooded with reactions, many of them supporting both Maher and Trump.
One user wrote, “Maher is 100% correct. I work at a large university and have to hide the fact that I’m a registered Republican. Where I work is nothing more than a hornets nest of liberal, un American views and indoctrination of students."
Another commenter criticized Maher’s consistency but praised Trump, saying, “Bill Maher sways whichever the wind blows. The man has no backbone. President Trump is a great man and an excellent leader. Get it together, America”
Others weighed in on broader issues tied to university reform. “It is time to stop approving visas for foreign students and foreign professors,” one person suggested. “They can go indoctrinate and protest in other countries other own.”
A Trump supporter emphasized the need for ideological balance in higher education: “Universities need to teach how to think, not what to think. I support Trump’s crackdown on campus anti-Semitism. Our Universities need political balance , not a leftist echo chamber.”
Some users expressed cautious agreement. “Maher isn’t wrong,” one stated, while another added, “He’s one of the few Democrats I actually agree with.”
A final commenter noted Maher’s shifting tone over the years: “It seems that Maher has been moving a little more to the right since Trump was elected. I see it as pandering.”
This article contains remarks made on the internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.
