Bill Maher calls out Trump's post on Obamas, slams defenders for 'hypocrisy'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Comedian Bill Maher delivered a blistering monologue on 'Real Time with Bill Maher' on Friday, February 6, after President Donald Trump shared and later deleted a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.

Maher accused Trump’s allies of hiding behind weak explanations and applying moral outrage selectively, arguing that the behavior was condemned when directed at conservatives, but was suddenly excused when it targeted Trump’s critics.

Bill Maher calls out Trump admin's hypocrisy

Maher opened the segment by addressing the now-deleted video without showing it on air, saying that he did not want to amplify the imagery.

“I’m not going to show it, because I don’t want to give it any oxygen,” he told viewers. He noted the timing of the incident, adding pointedly, “And it’s also Black History Month. To get things kicked off, the Trump administration today called for a moment of indifference.”

Maher then corrected himself: “No, they did something much worse.” He described bluntly: “Trump did a Roseanne. Did you see this? And shared a video of Black people superimposed as apes. And the people were the Obamas.”

Maher highlighted what he described as a fatal problem with the explanation.

“Uh, of course. Of course, there’s two things a little wrong with this one,” he said. “There are no apes in The Lion King.”

He followed that with a broader challenge to the logic being offered. “And two, if it’s a cartoon character, it’s okay? That’s a rule now?”

Maher questioned whether labeling something animated automatically made it acceptable. “If it’s a cartoon, is it okay to do anything?” he asked.

Maher then accused the administration of selective outrage.

“So it’s if somebody made a cartoon of Elmer Fudd shooting Charlie Kirk, that would be okay?” he asked, before erupting: “You f*****g hypocrites!”

The Trump administration's defense draws open ridicule

Maher next dismantled the White House's explanation for the repost, mocking the claim that Trump did not mean to share it.

“They said he did not mean to hit share. He meant to hit like,” Maher said, before turning his attention to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“Karoline Leavitt, you know, she’s very loyal, press spokesman, very loyal.” He then relayed the administration’s justification: “She said he was, the president was just reposting a meme of him as the king of the jungle with Democrats as characters from The Lion King, as world leaders do.”

Turning again to Leavitt’s remarks, Maher mocked her dismissal of criticism. “You know. And again, Karoline Leavitt went on, and she said, this is just a lot of fake outrage. Fake outrage!” he repeated.

He then ridiculed the familiar demand that the media focus on supposedly more important matters.

“Why don’t you people in the press report on something that matters to the American public?” he mocked.

The episode featured musician John Mellencamp as the interview guest, with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on the panel.