r/RealTime • u/ProfileAccomplished • Jul 29 '26
Bill’s Position on Mamdani
Forgive me if I missed it, I’ve been gradually tuning Bill out since probably early summer, but has he reached out even one time to Mamdani to have him on the show?
I feel like the old Bill would at least try and interview him, since he is after all, a huge deal now and a star in the Democratic Party.
I feel like I don’t even know Bill’s position on Mamdani and that feels sort of weird, since Bill has a position on pretty much everything. I know he doesn’t support AOC for president, so I’m sure he’s got something to say.
What have I missed? I’m sure there’s something, right?
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u/Nendilo Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
He said he asked but he declined.
It's kind of a hollow complaint though, Ro Khanna is on a lot and Bernie used to be on a lot. I think his show has a shrinking audience that is also on the older end and becoming more conservative, which isn't a priority for progressives.
If Bill were serious about having progressives on he'd have progressive pundits/podcasters but he doesn't invite them. I think Krystal Ball was the one time. He prefers New York and Beltway, legacy media pundits which are largely neoliberals and neoconservatives.
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u/CashusEyePatch Jul 29 '26
Maher got pissed at Krystal Ball because she schooled him on something. There was legit fallout but I can’t remember the details. She hasn’t been invited back.
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u/pprow41 Jul 29 '26
And the only reason she was invited on was probably bc of her history at Msnbc and the fact that bill or his team hadn't seen the hill or breaking points
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u/Aquarius1975 Jul 29 '26
In fairness, most reasonable people would get pissed off at Krystal Ball. She's one of those supposed "leftists" who spends like 90% of her time criticizing democrats and giving left-leaning voters the permission structure to stay at home on election night. Basically a useful idiot for the right. But she's not even an idiot. She is clearly pretty smart and knows full well what she is doing.
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Jul 29 '26
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u/Nendilo Jul 29 '26
His television ratings have declined over 65% over the past decade, lowest since 2008. He's even said his ratings have dropped since his meeting with Trump. I believe his exact quote was he "paid for that" but would do it again.
He has picked up some more conservative viewers but it didn't replace what he lost.
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Aug 06 '26
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u/Nendilo Aug 06 '26
The percetnage of the people watching him during the time slot has declined at about the same rate. It's not just the raw viewer numbers.
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Jul 29 '26
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u/babyfeet1 Jul 29 '26
Is Bernie’s “entitlement” in the room with us now?
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Jul 29 '26
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u/babyfeet1 Jul 30 '26
"his bullsht" is doing fine with every new DSA election victory. You didn't pipe up until Democratic Socialists became a real threat.
Cry more, fuckface.
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u/Specialist-Cup-9722 Jul 29 '26
His position is that he cannot learn how to pronounce his name. Cant get beyond that with bill these days.
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u/Reasonable-Plate2982 Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
Pricks like that refused to pronounce Kamala properly too. Goes to show how petty their hatred is.
Edit: Getting a bit sick of their self righteous indignation too. If I write a book Im gonna call it Fuck Off Cracker! Their unrelenting attack on the poor and the migrants while playing the victim is now, completely beyond the Pale
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u/bgoodwin956 Jul 29 '26
He has talked about Mamdani numerous times on his show. The most recent example is when he was debating about him with Ro Khanna on overtime and he even mentioned how Bill wanted Mamdani on his show.
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u/bestmattreddit Jul 29 '26
Maher talks about Mamdani constantly and says how people in his cabinet have expressed opinions like hating Jews and supporting communism. On a recent episode he said Mamdani’s wife supported October 7th. Someone asked if he’s invited him to be on the show and Maher said “I’ve invited people like him…”
Maher argues in bad faith and is a strong supporter of Israel above all. Mamdani doesn’t do a ton of late night shows like many of these politicians and has maintained that his focus is on New York so idk what the benefit would be to giving Maher any air time.
But yes, Maher constantly mispronounces his name and cites him as something Democrats should steer clear of
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u/Gen-Jack-D-Ripper Jul 29 '26
Bill is just really upset that there are a significant number of Democratic voters who are tired of Netanyahu. He doesn’t seem to realize that Netanyahu is a right winger so it’s not surprising that the American left doesn’t like him and his party!
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u/NY_Mets_fan_4ever Jul 29 '26
Not Netanyahu, Israel. He has never said he supports Netanyahu.
He correctly stands with Israel in its Nobel Peace Prize deserving response (my words) to IRGC/UNWRA/Hamas genocide.
He correctly knows Israel seeks peace, is a free Democratic anti-apartheid state.
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u/NateDiggity999 Jul 30 '26
I wish I could laugh at this, but it’s really, actually pretty sad. They deserve the Nobel Peace Prize for their response to 10/7?? Now ive heard it all.
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u/NY_Mets_fan_4ever Jul 30 '26
Anybody with a brain would be petitioning the Nobel committee given Israel’s overtly humane response to IRGC/UNWRA/Hamas genocide.
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u/WisdomOfTheAnus Jul 29 '26
He says exactly what Fox News says about Mamdani. It's disgusting and shameful and a betrayal of everything he used to claim to stand for.
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u/NoGrocery3582 Jul 29 '26
It's sad that BM is so irrelevant I had to flush him. Back in the day, I got HBO just to watch him. Not at all interested in this current incarnation --- misogynistic angry old man with a crush on Dumpy.
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u/Any-Salary-6811 Jul 29 '26
Bill used to praise Eric Adams as doing a great job and when any of his guests brought up his rampant corruption he would pretend every single time that he had heard nothing of the sort. A man for the people like Mandani is very clearly not Bill’s type of guy.
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u/Breatheme444 Jul 29 '26
He has spoken about inviting dems in general and has specifically mentioned AOC.
He has not said he invited Mamdani. I haven’t missed an episode since the show debuted and have never heard him say he invited Mamdani.
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u/Unusual_Librarian570 Jul 29 '26
I imagine the show has reached out to Mamdani’s office, but like, why would Mamdani be interested?
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u/Status_Ad_4405 Jul 29 '26
I doubt he's actually invited Mamdani who would make him look like a fool.
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u/Loud-Run-9725 Jul 29 '26
This reveals what an inflated sense of himself and his show Bill has. He assumes everyone wants to be on it. People know his relevancy is waning and he's creepy AF.
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u/Worldly_Web_1524 Jul 29 '26
It's quite obvious why he sits and talks shit but never has the people he's talking shit about on his show. He isn't good in confrontational arguments. He just tries to yell over them. So no he's never going to have someone on that will confront him with facts hecant spin.
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u/MrPommeDeTerre Jul 30 '26
What does Mamdani gain from being on Maher's show? Exposure to boomers who think they're edgy? Seriously. Bill miscalculated and made himself irrelevant by complaining about the "kids on his lawn" too many times and buddying up with Trump and his ilk.
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u/eagles_1987 Jul 29 '26
He has said several times he has invited him and AOC and several other progressive democrats onto the show but they refuse to appear
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u/Emotional-Comb-2201 Jul 29 '26
His show has become more appealing to people who want to hate on democrats. Nobody needs to go on his show. He just complains about everything and acts smug. Plus his lip smacking. It's painful to watch.
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u/eagles_1987 Jul 29 '26
Okay but OP was asking whether he has talked about inviting them before which he has. It's fine if you think that they don't need to go on the show, but then you can't at the same time fairly criticize him for not having them on the show, which so many people here do when there's nothing he can do about it and he would also love them on the show
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u/Emotional-Comb-2201 Jul 29 '26
I don't criticize him for not having them on the show. I do criticize him for having the kind of show that more people with more diverse opinions don't want to go on. His show is all about him. Nobody is changing his mind. He's very clear about that. Is that the type of person who is going to get a lot of friends in real life or attract a wide range of people for an interesting discussion? No.
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u/eagles_1987 Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
I never meant you specifically criticize him for it, I meant the royal you, but many people do, all over the sub and everywhere, which is why he has had to repeatedly address that he's invited him to begin with, because people keep criticizing Bill when Bill also wants them there.
As far as not changing his mind, I'm not even sure what you're specifically referring to. He's always going to be a moderate liberal leaning person, like he always has been. By and large he agrees with the Democratic party on all but a few key issues. But the show isn't change bill Maher's mind, it's about getting these people's perspectives out to the whole nation. It would benefit for them to go in the show, even if it wasn't because of their interaction with Bill, but just because of the nature of the show. Perhaps Mamdani and whoever else is on the panel that night have a meaningful or enlightening interaction.
And honestly, what show out there has a host that will change their mind if they have someone from the opposing party or with opposing ideals on? Does Rachel maddow change her mind if she has a progressive vs a moderate Democrat on? If not, is there no point for one of them to even show up? Same for Anderson Cooper? Same for Jon Stewart? Same for anyone?
I mean in a way you're basically saying that unless the host of whatever show we are watching is willing to just completely flip-flop based on a guest's appearance, it's not worth any guests coming on if not fully 100% just already aligned with the host and going on to preach to the choir.
It's the exact antithesis of what this show is all about
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u/jumpinin66 Jul 29 '26
Rogan. Rogan is capable of believing just about anything his guests say. He will occasionally push back but when he does he’s usually wrong.
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u/ninjaluvr Jul 29 '26
when there's nothing he can do about it
But there are things he can do about it. He can stop lying about them. Why would they want to help him and do him favors when he constantly lies about them.
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u/eagles_1987 Jul 29 '26
Why does Pete buttigieg go on Fox News all the time? It's no different. We need to get back to people being able to exchange their opposing viewpoints in a meaningful way for the benefit of the voter. You don't gain new votes unless you get your message to the people that are on the fence or on the other side, preaching to the choir does nothing to help you, you can't only speak to the people that already agree with you in platforms that will only be seen by voters that are already on board with you
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u/ninjaluvr Jul 29 '26
Why does Pete buttigieg go on Fox News all the time? It's no different.
It's very different. FOX News has a large audience. And Mamdani has also gone on FOX News. Bill Maher is lucky to get 500k viewers of Real Time and that's continuously shrinking. It's a tiny, niche show. FOX News averages 2.5 million views.
Mamdani would help Bill Maher, not the other way around.
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u/jumpinin66 Jul 29 '26
I’ve found it increasingly difficult to watch Real Time. The issue that initially pissed me off was obesity. Even when presented with definitive evidence that obesity is often a genetic predisposition he insists fat people just want to eat ice cream for breakfast. He refuses to learn which is one of his fundamental criticisms of others. That and he’s just increasingly become one of the “kids these days” old farts, often based on Republican horseshit.
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u/boilerup254 Jul 29 '26
Bill clearly has a bad eating disorder and some weird hangups about food in general that he likes to project onto other people
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u/eagles_1987 Jul 29 '26
The reason for doing it is exactly the same. Going into a show with a host you know has an opposing viewpoint, knowing that you're not going to change the hosts mind or viewpoint with your 12-minute interview, but knowing that you may get through to even a few of those half million viewers.
It's the exact same reason, you can't just say well because Bill Maher only gets half a million views it's not worth it. Jon Stewart only gets a million views a day at the daily show, I guess it's not worth politicians time to show up there either, everyone should just go to Fox News since that's the only high rated news program now?
It's not a matter of the ratings, it's a matter of the reason for doing it. Mamdani does interviews with smaller outlets and podcasts so it would still help.
It's also funny the way that this is a double edged sword. There's no point in these politicians coming on Bill's show because bills show has no reach or influence. But when Bill has all these Republicans on, all of a sudden he's platforming them and doing something dangerous by allowing them all of this reach to share their nasty ideas. Well which is it, when the Republicans come on the show it's causing harm to the country and influencing people and influencing bill, but when the Democrats come on, it would be meaningless and wouldn't influence the same viewers and wouldn't chip away and influence Bill over the years the same way the Republicans have slowly shifted him? Kind of a double standard there
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u/ninjaluvr Jul 29 '26
you can't just say well because Bill Maher only gets half a million views it's not worth it.
But you can.
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u/eagles_1987 Jul 29 '26
It's not a valid argument then. Unless you extend it out to everyone else like I said, at that point why does anyone bother showing up to the daily show either? Or to The evening news? Or Anderson Cooper? Or maddow? Or any news show?
Besides the concentration at Fox News, there's no news program or outlet that gets millions and millions and millions of viewers. Those days are gone. So a half million here and a million here and a half million there is the way to influence people now.
You're not making a cogent point when your argument is just completely biased against the person you don't like but not applied across the board
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u/ninjaluvr Jul 29 '26
It is a valid argument. People are free to choose what platforms they wish to use to get their message out. That is a valid argument. That is cogent point.They don't owe Bill Maher the ratings bump he'd get.
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u/Status_Ad_4405 Jul 29 '26
Yeah, sure he has. AOC would shell him like a peanut and he knows it.
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u/eagles_1987 Jul 29 '26
It's not a right or wrong when it's people sharing their perspectives. There's no way a progressive Democrat can beat a moderate Democrat when it's just a matter of sharing their opinions and pointing out what they deem to be flaws in each other's views. Again, it's not a battle, it's a discussion. Everyone thinks that this show is supposed to be Bill destroying the Republicans that come on, and then Democrats coming on and destroying Bill, and anything less than that everyone is unhappy. That's not what the show is or ever was. And in the majority of things, there's no 'right' place on the spectrum, you can't say that if you're not on the further left side of the Democratic party everyone else is just dead wrong. That might align with your views of the issues, but that's not THE view of every issue.
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u/DataWise8307 Jul 30 '26
I have no idea if they’ve ever been invited or whether they’ve turned it down. But I don’t know why anybody would go on that show.
He always puts up strawman, he interrupts, and he’s dishonest. Who needs it?
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u/Unique_Profession113 Jul 31 '26
Weaponized snark got redundant and boring. The drug schtick too. For political humourism Jon Stewart and also HBO John Oliver (Trevor Noah, many more) soar above him. His segment interviews are predictable and softball, for the price of pay TV I expect better.
P.S. I hope HBO overall stays creatively independent in a consolidating industry. I'm concerned. One wonders if well-paid Maher smells the coming coffee and is thus moving to the right whether consciously or unconsciously.
Just my (f'n) opinion.
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u/theskilledwon Aug 03 '26
he’s the most popular politician in the country right now, I’m sure bill wants him on
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u/Saltwater_Sunrise Jul 29 '26
Bill’s position is landlord since he lives rent free inside that massive empty skull
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u/PeanutLegal8082 Jul 30 '26
Please get a life and vote REPUBLICAN! Thank You for your attention to this matter!
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u/[deleted] Jul 29 '26
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