"Real Time" host Bill Maher urged liberals to not "hate" the Republicans who, despite political differences, accepted President Biden's election victory.
During a panel discussion Friday night, Maher decried polling that shows a growing number of Americans, particularly young Americans, believe a civil war and political violence is acceptable and that some on both sides of the aisle believe it's "time to split" the country by party.
"I just want to know what this looks like… how does that work?" Maher asked. "Is there gonna to be a line of cars from Arizona going into California? And the 4 million Trump voters that we have in California are going to be driving into Arizona? What does that mean, ‘time to split?’"
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie responded by saying he doesn't "buy" the seriousness of the polling, dismissing it as expressed "anger" by Americans.
Christie pointed to the aftermath of the January 6 riot where lawmakers "did their jobs" and proceeded to certify Biden's electoral count, which he stressed Biden "had" won the election, proving the strength of U.S. democracy, "not the other way around."
"You're in the minority of your party — at least of the people who are running," Maher told the former governor. "Two hundred ninety-nine of the Republicans who are running [in the midterms]… a majority… they don't think the election was fair and Biden actually lost."
"We'll see how they do," Christie replied. "In the end, you gotta get out there and fight that."
BILL MAHER DEFENDS BIDEN FROM COMPLAINTS OF HIS AGE FOLLOWING ‘WHERE’S JACKIE?' GAFFE
The HBO star then explained what he calls the "As Good As It Gets" Republicans, something he swore was a compliment to politicians like Christie.
"The people who just are adamant about how they won't even talk to Republicans," Maher said. "You want something that's not gonna be. Republicans see the world differently. It's OK. We have to have that. But this is as good as its gets — Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, Kinzinger… but even Bill Barr, and Pence, they both — and Mitch McConnell have all said this was a legitimate election. That's as good as it gets, liberals, for Republicans. Deal with that! Don't hate those people."
During his closing monologue, Maher lambasted political "bubbles" forming across the country.
"I've gotta say, more than anything, this is what is wrong with this country. Our real division isn't between red and blue, it's between the people on both sides who aren't willing to mingle with Americans outside their political tribe so they have no idea what they're really like," Maher told his audience. "I asked a friend of mine recently if he wanted to come to a little party I was having and when he found out one of the guests had voted for Trump, he told me he wasn't coming because, ‘I wouldn’t breathe the same air.' OK, there's a word for people like this: a------s."
"When we confine ourselves to bubbles, alternative points of view become not just objectionable, they're unfavorable," Maher said while railing against GOP Arizona Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem, who alleged Biden didn't win his state because he personally never met a Biden voter. "Mark, have you ever been to a Whole Foods? Or talk to a woman under 50?"
Maher slammed the idea of Americans choosing not to move to other parts of the country because they "wouldn't feel welcomed."
"Would anyone ride the New York City subway wearing a MAGA hat?" Maher wondered. "Would anyone go to a NASCAR race in a Biden T-shirt while they chant, ‘F--- Joe Biden?' That's where we are now where other parts of the country are seen as scary, no-go zones. America is like a prison now where the inmates think they need to join one of the gangs to survive and we dare not to walk on the wrong side of the yard."
