Bill Maher calls out celebrities who threatened to leave America under Donald Trump but stayed
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: Bill Maher's recent monologue on 'Real Time' targeted Hollywood liberals and other Americans who previously expressed a desire to leave the country under former President Donald Trump but have remained.
Maher criticized both politicians and public figures, highlighting instances where they complained about living in the US despite their previous declarations.
Bill Maher talks about hypocrisy of those threatening to leave America
Kicking off his monologue, Maher specifically mentioned a progressive state representative candidate in New Hampshire who expressed frustration on social media, saying, "I need to get the f**k out of this country”, as well as former President Trump, who once remarked that he "could’ve been relaxing in… the south of France" instead of running for office.
Maher's commentary resonated with many who perceived hypocrisy in those who voiced intentions to leave but ultimately stayed in the country.
“Again, I’m confused by this political message: Vote for me because I hate it here,” Maher remarked, continuing, “Now, does America have big problems? Yes. I’ve often cited the ‘America sucks’ list."
"Things like being 54th in the world in infant mortality behind Cuba, 19th and literacy behind Russia, 72nd in female representation in government behind Iraq, a lot of work to do here. And is it possible for a country to lose itself so much that leaving it is justified? Yes, but we’re not there yet. Not by a long shot. And we don’t need quitters. We need people who will stay and fix it", the host added.
"Maybe the problem isn’t that America isn’t worth defending. Maybe the problem is that lots of people today are entitled whiners who have no perspective and no idea how good they have it," Maher continued, prompting cheers from his audience.
The HBO host criticized the "59% of liberals" who, according to a poll, contemplated permanently leaving America, questioning them, "You advocate so fervently for every immigrant to come to this country and enjoy the good life, yet somehow you find it so unbearable that you want to depart?"
He also ridiculed the conservative movement in Texas advocating for secession, humorously remarking, "They have two bumper stickers in that state, America: love it or leave it! and we’re leaving it!"
Maher exposes empty threats of celebrities vowing to leave America, highlights global realities
He then proceeded to list "liberal celebrities" such as Lena Dunham, Cher, Snoop Dogg, Bryan Cranston, Susan Sarandon, Al Sharpton, Whoopi Goldberg, Chelsea Handler, Barbra Streisand, and others who "vow they'll leave if a Republican is elected, yet never follow through."
"Miley Cyrus once declared, 'I am moving if Trump becomes president. I don't say things I don't mean.' Yet here she is, appearing miserable while enduring America at the Grammys last Sunday. I suppose she flew back from Tajikistan," Maher said.
He continued, saying, "In 2016, Eddie Griffin asserted, 'If Trump wins, I'm moving to Africa' — apparently at a very leisurely pace, because in Trump's four years, he only managed to make it as far as Van Nuys. George Lopez once quipped that if Trump won, he 'won't have to worry about immigration. We'll all go back.' Yet here we are, George Lopez still here, and it doesn't appear that the migrant traffic is reversing."
"The New Republic just ran a story about the vulnerable minorities who want to flee America, including the author- a gay man trapped in the dystopian homophobic hellscape that is New York City. I wonder if he knows that there are 66 countries where just being gay is a crime,” Maher added.
“Cute story in the news last month. Burundi’s president called on his citizens to stone gay people and not in the good way. Wow. suddenly the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law doesn’t sound all that bad. And Uganda, oh, they don’t just give you a ticket for parking in the rear, you can get the death penalty for it! In China, they have the death penalty for almost 50 crimes and in 13 countries, atheism is punishable by death and 61 impose restrictions on women’s clothing so bring a scarf.”
Maher points out global human rights abuses
Continuing his discourse, Maher enumerated a series of nations where individual liberties are severely lacking, he said, “According to Amnesty International, paramilitary groups kill the government’s critics in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and arbitrary detentions are widespread in Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Nicaragua. If you’re wondering how that’s just like no cash bail, it’s not."
"In Russia, just referring to the war in Ukraine as a war can get you 15 years in the fabulous prisons made famous by some of the world’s most famous novels. You think America’s evil because we didn’t nominate Margot Robbie for an Oscar, just wait till you get thrown out the window of your very own dream house."
He also highlighted how thieves face severe punishments like having their hands cut off in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Sudan, jokingly advising, “If you’re coming from San Francisco, do your shoplifting at home.” Maher also pointed out that protesters are met with violence in many countries.
“It almost seems like the world is full of suffering, intolerance, and oppression on a scale we can’t imagine. But that can’t be true because if it was, we’d be protesting it. It must only happen in Israel,” Maher quipped.
Continuing as the host, Maher remarked, “And for your exile, if you do wind up in some comparatively luxurious place like Canada or Japan or the UK, not that they want you, at best you’ll be trading a bunch of stuff you hate about this country for a bunch of stuff you’ll soon hate about your new home. It took me only four days in Amsterdam to learn that while I admire Amsterdam, I don’t want to live there!"
"The buildings are cramped and shaped like needles, the food is awful, the TV is in a different language, it’s wet and cold, the people are polite but cold, and they do a bunch of weird s**t, the explanation for, according to my friend, was ‘Just remember, they’re high", Maher ended.
