Maher Rejects Tarlov's Claim Democrats Are Less Crazy
Maher Rejects Tarlov's Claim Democrats Are Less Crazy
The News
Bill Maher publicly broke with his own guest, Jessica Tarlov, after she insisted on Friday's broadcast of HBO's "Real Time" that Democrats are "less crazy" than Republicans.
Maher, according to Mediaite, was visibly shocked once he realized Tarlov was not being sarcastic, responding: "Are you kidding?!"
Breitbart reported that Maher argued on the same broadcast that Democrats have not gotten less crazy than they were in prior elections.
Timeline
On HBO's "Real Time," host Bill Maher argues Democrats have not become less crazy than they were in prior elections, per Breitbart's account of the broadcast.
In the same exchange, guest Jessica Tarlov states that Democrats are "less crazy" than the GOP. Mediaite reports Maher was stunned to learn she meant it seriously.
Clips of the exchange spread across media and right-leaning outlets, with Citizen Free Press posting it under the headline "Jessica Tarlov admits the truth about Democrats."
Reactions
Tarlov's position, as reported by Mediaite, was that her party is the less crazy of the two — a comparison she made in earnest rather than as a joke.
Maher's reaction was disbelief. Mediaite described him as "visibly shocked," quoting his retort: "Are you kidding?!"
Conservative media treated the segment as a win. Breitbart headlined its clip "Maher: Dems Haven't Gotten Less Crazy," while Citizen Free Press framed Tarlov's remark as an admission about her own party.
What's Next
"Real Time" returns with new episodes on HBO, where Maher has continued to press Democrats on the question he raised Friday: whether the party has actually changed since prior elections.
Tarlov remains a regular voice on Fox News, where the exchange is likely to be replayed and relitigated.
More
The clash is a small one on its face — a talk-show host talking past a guest — but it lands on the fault line inside the Democratic coalition: whether the party's problem is its policies, its messengers, or nothing at all.
Maher, a longtime critic of the left from the left, has built a late-career franchise out of that argument. Tarlov's answer on Friday was that the comparison with Republicans still favors her side.
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