Bill Maher tells Nancy Mace Dems never show up, calls out AOC and Clintons for dodging his show

Bill Maher criticized Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for avoiding his program despite repeated invitations
PUBLISHED SEP 28, 2025
Bill Maher thanked Rep Nancy Mace for appearing on his show (Screengrab/@RealTime/YouTube)
Bill Maher thanked Rep Nancy Mace for appearing on his show (Screengrab/@RealTime/YouTube)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Bill Maher used his show 'Real Time with Bill Maher' to accuse top Democrats of dodging his platform despite the invites.

The comedian claimed Republicans are more willing to show up and debate than their Democratic counterparts.



 

Bill Maher thanks Nancy Mace, says 'Republicans show up' while Democrats stay away

Bill Maher singled out Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bill and Hillary Clinton, saying they have all avoided his show despite repeated invitations. He also accused Democrats as a whole of dodging his show.

“Thank you for being here. I always say that to my Republican friends. I say it every week. The Republicans show up,” Maher told Rep Nancy Mace during the show.

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - JULY 17: U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) speaks on stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and the Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, concluding with former President Donald Trump accepting his party's presidential nomination. The RNC takes place from July 15-18. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
US Rep Nancy Mace (R-SC) speaks on stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“The Democrats do not. I say it every week. Stop asking me why the Clintons have never been on the show! They’re invited," Maher said.

He added, "AOC, all these people that never come. Ask them. Get on their case."

Also on the panel was CNN host Michael Smerconish, who joined the discussion on politics and media.

Bill Maher hails GOP as 'happy warriors' before raising James Comey indictment 

Bill Maher pivoted from the absence of Democrats on his program to the latest indictment of former FBI Director James Comey.

“You guys have been saying for a very long time that Trump just says stuff, but I mean come on. We’ve gone from just saying stuff now to, I mean James Comey," Maher continued.

James Comey speaks onstage during Former FBI Director James Comey In Conversation With MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace at 92NY on May 30, 2023, in New York City. (Photo by Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
James Comey speaks onstage during Former FBI Director James Comey In Conversation With MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace at 92NY on May 30, 2023, in New York City (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

"You know, I was saying in the monologue, you’re not supposed to comment at all on a president on an ongoing investigation," Maher said.

"He called him bad person, sick guy, did terrible things, guilty as hell. Would you at least agree that we are in a very different place than we’ve ever been?” Maher asked.

Nancy Mace defends her take on James Comey 

Mace responded by noting Comey’s history of drawing fire from both parties.

“My perspective is that I don’t want us to rewrite history here. In 2016, Chuck Schumer said of James Comey that he lost all confidence in him. So there have been Republicans and there have been Democrats who have expressed that James Comey has lied, has leaked,” Mace said.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 18: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a news conference on reproductive rights at the U.S. Capitol Building on June 18, 2024 in Washington, DC. Senate Democrats held the news conference to mark two years since the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Chuck Schumer speaks during a news conference on reproductive rights at the US Capitol Building on June 18, 2024 in Washington, DC (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Maher pushed back against Mace’s framing, pointing to the difference between opinion and comments on legal proceedings.

“That wasn’t talking about a trial. That wasn’t talking about an ongoing investigation. That was just an opinion about a guy who was the FBI director,” Maher said.

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