Bill Maher tells his audience not to hate 74 million Trump voters because 5,000 people rioted



Comedian Bill Maher, often a voice of reason for those on the liberal left, told his audience on Friday's episode of his HBO show "Real Time With Bill Maher" not to hate the 74 million people who voted for President Donald Trump because about 5,000 people claiming to support the president stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6.

In his profane monologue, transcribed by Ian Schwartz for Real Clear Politics, the liberal Biden-supporting Maher discussed the "tragedy" of Trump voters and what he thinks are the underlying causes of people turning to violence when the system fails them.

"Let's not confuse 5,000 people with 74 million," Maher said. "Yes, even supporting the insurrection in spirit is, well, deplorable. But there's a difference between holding illiberal beliefs and acting violently on them. At least that's what they always told me about Islamic terrorism.

"I keep wrestling on this show with the hard question of how do Americans, all of us, learn to share a country with a**holes you can't stand," he continued. "I preach, and still do, you can hate Trump, but not all the people who like him. And as counterintuitive as it may seem, you can like something run by a**holes without being one yourself."

Maher told the story of 14-year Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt, a woman who was fatally shot by Capitol Police after participating in the riot. Babbitt, a former Obama-Biden voter, was a strong Trump supporter who owned a business in San Diego, California. She faced economic hardship after being forced to take out a short-term loan with a 169% interest rate to keep her business open. Maher showed sympathy for Babbitt, who he believes was justifiably angry, but at the wrong people.

"She is the tragedy of the modern Republican voter personified: Pissed off at the greed and corruption that yes, has squeezed the middle class hard, but always coming up with the wrong answer to who is doing most of the squeezing," Maher said.

Addressing the Capitol rioters, Maher said they were "storming the wrong building."

"The feet up shouldn't have been on Pelosi's desk, it should have been on Trump's tanning bed," he added. "You thought Trump was going to be your bull in the china shop? Yeah, he was, but you were the china.

"Should Ashli Babbitt have applied better logic in seeing that her real problem in life wasn't pedophile Democrats or Antifa and that people like Elizabeth Warren were actually the ones who were at least trying to do something about predatory lending and economic exploitation? Yes. But not everyone can watch MSNBC all day. She had other priorities, like fighting overseas," Maher continued.

Then he took a swipe at California Democrats, criticizing woke politics and characterizing his state as overwhelmed by regulations and indifferent to the hardships of working people.

"Maybe, since all politics is local, all she knew was she lives in a state that cares more about her toxic whiteness than her toxic brokeness," Maher said. "And that the state that is run entirely by Democrats. Yeah. They didn't stop anyone from charging her 169% interest on a loan either.

"It shouldn't be that surprising that America is full of fed-up unhappy people who just want to break s**t," he continued. "Trump sure didn't drain any swamps but when it comes to graft and corruption and everybody wetting his beak, California, yeah, that's a swamp too. We can't put up a housing unit for the homeless for less than $500,000 or build a rail line connecting the state for less than $200 million a mile."

Watch:

New Rule: The Tragedy of Trump Voters | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) youtu.be

CNN's Don Lemon vilifies all Trump voters, lumps them in with Capitol rioters, Nazis, KKK, alt-right



CNN's Don Lemon vilified all voters of President Donald Trump on his program Wednesday night, lumping them in with rioters at the U.S. Capitol as well as the Ku Klux Klan, Nazis, the alt-right, and those who support slavery and bigotry.

What are the details?

While Lemon chatted with colleague Chris Cuomo, the subject turned to Trump voters and the Capitol riot last week.

"Now what you hear is, 'Well, you can't say that everybody who voted for Trump is like the people who went into the Capitol,'" Cuomo posed before asking Lemon for his reaction.

"You need to think about the side you're on," Lemon replied. "Principled people — conservative or liberal — never on the Klan side. Principled people — conservative or liberal — never on the Nazi side. Principled people who are conservative or liberal never on the side that treats their fellow Americans as less-than. That says that your fellow Americans should not exist. That says your fellow Americans should be in a concentration camp or that sides with slavery or sides with any sort of bigotry."

"Right," Cuomo replied. "And if they say, 'I don't agree with those people, I just like Trump's policies—'"

"Well, then get out of the crowd with them," Lemon shot back. "Get out of the crowd with them."

"I wasn't in the crowd; I just voted for Trump," Cuomo replied, taking on the persona of a Trump voter.

"You're in the crowd who voted for Trump," Lemon answered. "If you voted for Trump, you voted for the person who the Klan supported. You voted for the person who Nazis support. You voted for the person who the alt-right supports. That's the crowd that you are in. You voted for a person who incited a crowd to go into the Capitol and potentially take the lives of lawmakers, took the lives of police officers, took the ... innocent lives of the people who were at the Capitol that day."

Lemon added: "You voted on that side."

What was the reaction?

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro took Lemon to task, calling his statements "vile."

"It's this deliberate attempt to lump together anyone who voted for Trump and the Capitol rioters that undermines the possibility of unity," he added. "It also happens to be false and indecent."

Here's the clip:

Vile https://t.co/qF8VVjTX3j
— Ben Shapiro (@Ben Shapiro)1610627896.0

NYC cancels Trump Org contracts in Central Park and more following Capitol riots



New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) announced Wednesday that the city will terminate its business contracts with the Trump Organization following last week's riots at the U.S. Capitol.

What are the details?

According to a Wednesday report from NPR, the city will sever its contracts with the Trump Organization — owned by President Donald Trump and helmed by his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump — which operated two public ice rinks and a carousel in Central Park, as well as a Bronx golf course.

In a statement, de Blasio said, "The president incited a rebellion against the United States government that killed five people and threatened to derail the constitutional transfer of power. The City of New York will not be associated with those unforgivable acts in any shape, way, or form, and we are immediately taking steps to terminate all Trump Organization contracts."

He also added that the Trump Organization profited about $17 million annually from the sites.

James Johnson, corporation counsel with the mayor's office, added, "In light of last week's attack on our Capitol and our democracy, we have concluded that it is in the best interests of New Yorkers for the City to commence the process of canceling these contracts and terminating its business ties with the Trump Organization."

In response to the announcement, a spokesperson for the Trump Organization told CNN Business that the city does not have any right to cancel the contracts.

"Yet another example of Mayor de Blasio's incompetence and blatant disregard for the facts," the statement said. "The City of New York has no legal right to end our contracts and if they elect to proceed they will owe The Trump Organization over $30 million. This is nothing more than political discrimination and we plan to fight it vigorously."

Mayor declares 'right to sever the contract'

De Blasio appeared Wednesday' on MSNBC's broadcast of "Morning Joe," where he said the city has every legal avenue at its fingertips to execute the cancellation.

"The contracts make very clear that if the company and the leadership of that company is engaged in illegal activity, we have a right to sever the contract," de Blasio said. "Inciting an insurrection against the United States government clearly constitutes criminal activity."

"So, the City of New York will no longer have anything to do with the Trump Organization," he added.

Airbnb set to ban violent protesters from inauguration bookings, asks hosts to turn in suspect renters



Airbnb plans to ban Capitol rioters from booking its rentals in the Washington, D.C., area for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 20, according to reports.

What are the details?

According to a Tuesday report from CNN, the company has announced its plans to restrict renters who stormed the Capitol last week from returning to the city for the presidential inauguration.

The San Francisco, California-based company now says it will begin the process of reviewing all area reservations and will cross-reference the bookings as best as it can with the known identities of those people who were involved in criminal activity during Jan. 6's Capitol siege.

CNN reports, "Airbnb's steps may not prevent a person with violent intentions from staying in one of its properties. The names of every person involved in the Capitol riots are not known, making it difficult to issue a comprehensive ban. Airbnb said it's cross-referencing a January 6 arrest log from the DC police department. It's also looking at US Attorney press releases listings arrests and changes."

Further, the outlet reports that the company is looking into permanently banning those rioters from the Airbnb platform altogether.

The Los Angeles Times also reported that the company will warn all guests in the Washington, D.C., area that it may "bring legal action against them if they are members of hate groups or if they plan violent activities."

The company asks hosts to reach out to the company if they suspect guests are violating the policy.

ABC News on Tuesday reported that Janeese Lewis George, a Washington city council member, implored property owners to keep vigilant.

"There's no way to guarantee that your guests are not coming to incite violence," George said of possible travelers. "Please protect your neighbors and the District from more attacks."

At the time of this reporting, the company has declined to say if it has canceled any related bookings.