Bill Maher reveals why he won't join the political right as he bashes Trump glorification

WASHINGTON, DC: Bill Maher has revealed the one reason why he would not "go all the way" and "join" the right-wing Republican Party.

The ‘Real Time’ host, who has often criticized the Democratic Party for wokeness, gave a passionate speech on Friday, March 28, explaining his reason for not joining the GOP. 

The 69-year-old addressed his speech to some of his Republican fans who repeatedly asked him why he wasn’t going all the way to join them despite being one of the most vocal critics of the Democrats.

Bill Maher reveals the one reason he won't join the Republican Party

Bill Maher said in his fiery speech, "To those on the right who keep asking me, 'Bill, you’re so good at roasting the woke nonsense-peddlers, why don’t you go all the way and join us? Uh, let me give you the short answer: because I don’t want to live in North Korea," as reported by HuffPost.

He continued to draw parallels between Kim Jong Un’s North Korea and the Republicans, as he said, "Kim Jong Un has state stenographers who follow him everywhere and scribble his genius ideas into their notebooks and applaud." Directing his ire toward the supporters of President Donald Trump, Maher added, "Well, Republicans, that's you now."

Maher went on to give a few instances of what he thinks are similar to the political adulation shown by the Republican supporters, including the recent proposition to add Trump to Mount Rushmore or to rename Dulles International Airport to honor the 78-year-old MAGA spearhead. 

"And these bills they’ve introduced to make Trump’s birthday a holiday and put him on currency ... this is not what we do here, guys," the late-night talk show host quipped. "He’s still in office for God’s sake, can we see how it turns out before we put him on a stamp?"

He continued to bash the supporters, saying that the Republicans even "dance like Trump now" and "name weapons systems after him," referencing the commander-in-chief’s recent announcement that Boeing was awarded the contract to produce the US Air Force's next-generation fighter jet, named the F-47, a nod to him being the 47th POTUS. 

"Some even talk like him now, with the crazy over-the-top exaggerations. About our new tariff policy, Commerce Secretary [Howard] Lutnick said, 'These policies are the most important thing America has ever had," Maher noted.

Amid audible laughter from the audience, he added, "Yeah, take that, Emancipation Proclamation and Louisiana Purchase."

Bill Maher roasts top Trump officials over Signal group chat blunder

Apart from revealing his reason for not joining the Republican party, Bill Maher went a step further and mocked the recent Signal group chat controversy.

The Atlantic's editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, recently revealed that he was inadvertently added to a group text chain where some of the highest-ranking national security officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, discussed plans for an airstrike in Yemen. 

Maher told the audience during the opening monologue, "The entire national security team was on a group chat. You know, the Houthis in Yemen have been attacking the shipping lanes, so maybe they do need a good bombing," as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

"So the entire national security team, I’m talking about the secretary of defense, the vice president, the head of the CIA, Department of Homeland Security, all these people are on this group chat on Signal, which is safer than a normal [messaging service], but I have it. It’s not like it’s super secure," continued the comedian.

He added, "So they’re on this group chat, the defense team, and they loop in a reporter who they say was in some guy’s contact list," before joking, "So today, every teenager in America is saying, 'And you’re worried about our screen time?'"

Maher further roasted the security officials for their casual handling of the important matters, as he said, "Again, this is our defense team, the national security people, the adults, and they’re all using emojis. You know, flames and biceps and fist bumps," before questioning rhetorically, "What were they gonna do if the mission failed? Poop emoji, facepalm [emoji]."