Bill Maher hails Trump's 'go swimming' response to reporter after his DC plane crash jokes spark outrage

WASHINGTON, DC: Talk show host Bill Maher surprised some viewers as he offered rare praise for President Donald Trump over his reaction to a reporter's question regarding the Washington, DC, plane crash.

The crash, which took place when a Blackhawk military helicopter collided with an American Airlines jet, claimed 67 lives on Wednesday night, January 29.

The 'Real Time with Bill Maher' host also faced criticism for making jokes about the tragedy during his show's Friday night monologue, sparking online backlash.

Bill Maher says Donald Trump gave the 'exactly right' response

Donald Trump was questioned in the Oval Office the next day about his administration's response to the tragedy and whether he would visit the crash site at the Potomac River.

“They asked him a question about the crash, and they said, ‘Will you visit the crash site now?’ Every other politician would go, ‘Of course, it was a tragedy,’” Maher said.

Maher defended Trump's blunt response to the reporter, saying he admired his authenticity.

“And he went, ‘It’s the water. What do you want me to do, swim there?’ And I was like, exactly. F**k right," Maher continued.

"You’re exactly right. It’s a stupid question. And you got just the answer you deserve,” Maher added.

Bill Maher jokes about reactions to DC plane crash

The praise came after Bill Maher opened his show on Friday night, January 31, by addressing the fatal crash.

“Horrible news from DC this week,” he said before making light of the political reactions to the tragedy.

He then poked fun at the controversial response from Trump, saying he "immediately came out and said 'We don't know what caused the crash', and then 10 seconds later blamed DEI," Daily Mail reported.

“And then the Democrats blamed Elon Musk for getting rid of the FAA 10 days earlier, and then Bobby Kennedy said they all died from the vaccine,” Maher added.

The comedian suggested that reactions in the US to such events are often exaggerated.

“Yes, with DEI, we overreached with that, now we have an accident like this, and Trump's view is that the air traffic controller was distracted because he was a Haitian eating a cat at the time,” Maher joked.

Internet reacts to Bill Maher's comments on Trump and the crash

Bill Maher's jokes about the crash left some viewers unsettled.

“Wow, jokes concerning a fatal plane crash,” one person commented. Another added, “Kind of surprised at the jokes about a plane crash.”

One person remarked on the Trump administration, saying, “It's only been eleven days? It's felt like eleven months!”

“I appreciate you making the point that it's too early to assign blame, but then you did exactly that. Can we all just wait until it's investigated?” one more person commented on YouTube.

Maher's comments on Trump’s response also drew mixed reactions online.

On Maher defending Trump’s remark to the reporter, one user on X wrote, “I thought it was a very appropriate & valid answer myself.”

Another person criticized Maher’s stance, saying, “This guy tries to play both sides of the fence and just ends up annoying everyone.”

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.