Bill Maher lashes out over calls for liberals to cut ties with family members who voted for Donald Trump

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Leave it to Bill Maher to stir the pot. On a recent episode of 'Real Time with Bill Maher', the comedian came out swinging against Dr Amanda Calhoun, a Yale psychiatrist, who suggested it might be okay to ditch your Trump-voting family members. And let’s just say Maher wasn't having it.

Calhoun's controversial comments came during an MSNBC appearance with Joy Reid. When asked about the emotional toll Donald Trump’s presidential win had on marginalized groups, she didn’t sugarcoat her opinions. She also called for cutting ties with relatives that voted for president-elect Trump.

"So, if you are going into a situation where you have family members, where you have close friends who you know have voted in ways that are against you… it’s completely fine to not be around those people and to tell them why," Calhoun told Reid.

“There is a societal norm that if somebody is your family that they are entitled to your time,” she said. “And I think the answer is absolutely not.”

Bill Maher responds to call for snubbing family members who voted for Donald Trump

Cue Bill Maher, who turned the aforementioned hot take into comedy gold. On his show, Maher couldn’t resist poking fun at Dr Amanda Calhoun’s position — even comparing it to segregation.

As a photo of civil rights activist Rosa Parks appeared on the screen, he quipped: “How pure. It’s like not letting certain people sit with you on the bus.”

Maher zeroed in on Calhoun’s argument. “She also said that it shouldn’t be automatic that family members think they are entitled to you," he continued.

The veteran host sarcastically asked, “Family, who do they think they are? Family?” The audience ate it up, laughing and clapping.

Eventually flashing a picture of Calhoun on the screen, he didn't hold back. “You know who I really wouldn’t want to have Thanksgiving dinner with? This overly educated, extremely stupid, ivory tower academic. But I would, because if we ever want this nation to heal, this is what we have to do," he said.

Dr Amanda Calhoun's advice resonates with a few

Of course, not everyone thinks Dr Amanda Calhoun is off base. Over on 'The View', co-host Sunny Hostin backed her up by saying Donald Trump was a “different type of candidate” and made family disagreements more of a moral issue.

“I really do feel that this candidate, you know, president-elect Trump, is just a different type of candidate,” Hostin said. “From the things he said and the things he’s done and the things he will do, it’s more of a moral issue for me.”

She added that while past presidents like George W Bush might’ve had questionable policies, “you didn’t feel like he was a deeply flawed person, deeply flawed by character, deeply flawed in morality.”

Calhoun’s comments seem to reflect a growing trend. Since Trump’s election, some liberals have proudly declared they’re skipping family gatherings with Trump voters altogether. Social media has been buzzing with essays from people saying they just can’t deal with the aftermath of the election anymore.

This isn’t Calhoun’s first time courting controversy. Last year, she made waves with an op-ed for Harvard Public Health where she called for doctors to wear body cameras to catch racist behavior in healthcare.

“I have witnessed countless racist behaviors toward Black patients, often coupled with conscious and cruel statements,” she wrote. “I have heard White nurses joke that young Black children will probably join gangs and doctors describe the natural hair of Black people as ‘wild’ and ‘unkempt'.”

Bill Maher takes shots at liberals as well as conservatives

Bill Maher hasn’t just been roasting Dr Amanda Calhoun. Ever since Donald Trump’s election win, he’s been taking shots at liberals, conservatives, and everyone in between.

Last week, he called some Democrats “flat-out stupid” for doubling down on what he sees as losing strategies. "When you're in a hole, stop digging, not keep digging. Talk about doubling down on what got you f**king in the first place," he insisted.

He also took aim at progressive causes, mocking everything from “Queers for Palestine” T-shirts to people still wearing masks “two years after the pandemic ended".

He added that Trump supporters “don’t have a monopoly on stupid".

Then he turned his sights on the Teachers' Union, accusing them of turning schools into a joke. “The liberal party has basically become a Portlandia sketch,” he joked, drawing laughs from his audience.

And of course, Maher didn’t miss a chance to rip into Trump’s controversial cabinet choices. “The Republicans, man, when they take power, they grab it by the py,” Maher said, referencing Trump’s infamous line. “They don’t f**k around.”

After Florida Rep Matt Gaetz withdrew from being Trump’s Attorney General nominee, Maher joked that the Republicans had decided Gaetz was "too despicable, even for us.” He also joked about the appointment of WWE wrestling executive Linda McMahon as Education Secretary.