Comedian Bill Maher blasted the political Left for intolerance — particularly with regard to differing ideologies — during a recent conversation with comedian Jay Leno.
Leno joined Maher for the latest episode of his podcast, “Club Random” — and, at one point, the discussion turned to the late Rat Pack member Sammy Davis Jr. and the backlash he received for taking a photo at the White House with then-Republican President Richard Nixon.
WATCH:
Bill Maher tells Jay Leno that his least favorite part of the left is how they will cut you off from their lives if you are friends with someone from the right:
Jay Leno: "Remember him [Sammy Davis Jr] hugging Nixon? At the time he was seen as a traitor."
Bill Maher: "A guy who… pic.twitter.com/eRkiAv0Bwg— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) December 23, 2024
“Remember him hugging Nixon —” Leno began, and Maher interrupted.
“So what?” he asked.
Leno agreed with Maher’s take, but also pointed out that “at the time,” critics and activists had called Davis Jr. a “traitor.”
Maher touted the performer’s response: Davis Jr. had stood his ground and defended his meeting with Nixon by insisting that he’d support any politician, regardless of party, provided they got “results” for the people.
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“It’s so funny you mention that because today we live in this time where you’re not allowed to have friends from the other side or cross lines politically, and I forgot that there’s an example of that way back when,” Maher added.
The HBO host went on to mock Democrats for getting bent out of shape when friends, family members, or co-workers dared to vote for someone they didn’t like.
“A guy who crossed lines politically. Oh, the worst thing you could ever do. Be friends with a Republican? Ah! Call 911!” he said. “This is what I f***ing hate about the Left. You know — and they’re not going to get me over to the Trump side, which they think they will sometimes — but just the idea of ‘cut your family off for Thanksgiving if they voted for the wrong guy.’ F*** off, you f***s.”
Maher concluded that the backlash against Davis Jr. was an early warning sign of the cancel culture that was yet to come — and largely from the left.
“Sammy, when he hugged Nixon, he was ostracized by the Left a lot. That was an early harbinger of that,” he said.
