Bill Maher called for more bipartisanship in Washington. Then he gave Trump credit for fighting crime: ‘Bad guys got the message’

Bill Maher spent part of Friday’s Real Time episode giving President Donald Trump credit for crime while urging Democrats and Republicans to stop treating cooperation as off-limits. He said voters should not pretend a hard-edged president would have no effect on street crime.

Maher labeled Trump the “F–k around and find out” president and listed a string of tough-guy images he associated with that style of leadership. He said Trump has held UFC fights on the White House lawn and that criminals appeared to have noticed.

“Is doing it this way the right thing? No. But it’s just childish to pretend that when you elect a F–k around and find out president, a no more Mr. Nice Guy, boot in your a–, V for Vendetta, kick a– and take names, say hello to my little friend president, that’s not gonna have some effect on crime. He has a UFC fights on the [White House] lawn. I think the bad guys got the message,” Maher said.

Maher tied lower drug deaths to both Narcan and tighter border enforcement

Maher said the same segment was also about what he called “accidental bipartisanship,” meaning each party making progress on a problem without sitting down together. He named falling drug deaths and lower prescription drug costs as two areas where that had happened.

He used backlash to a meeting between House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Jared Kushner as his example that open deal-making now draws suspicion. Collaboration, he said, is what democratic government is supposed to be.

“That’s what democratic government is, collaboration. But bipartisanship is such a dirty concept now that we can only practice it in secret. Like how Republicans do with homosexuality,” Maher said.

Turning to overdoses, Maher said CDC data showed large drops from prior peaks and that the current administration deserved some of the credit. He also said non-political factors and stricter southern border rules were major pieces of the story.

“Here’s what’s crazy. The progress we’ve made in the last few years in both street drugs and prescription drugs is truly phenomenal, and no one’s talking about it. Deaths involving fentanyl are down 55% from their peak. Cocaine, down 37%. Heroin, 89%. There’s been a 34% decrease in meth-related deaths, which has led to a 64% increase in teeth,” he said.

Maher said Democrats helped as well when the FDA widened access to Narcan under former President Joe Biden. He said the spray and law enforcement both worked, and that closing the border, deporting gang members, and breaking up supply chains also cut deaths. The talk-show host recently sat down with Hunter Biden, where he didn’t shy away from asking the former president’s son some tough questions.

“That contributed a lot to the huge decrease in drug deaths. But so did closing the border and deporting gangbangers and disrupting supply. Narcan worked and law enforcement worked. You see, mommy and daddy, for the sake of the kids, work together even though they hate each other,” Maher said.

He added that a larger safety net under Democrats meant fewer desperate people, then called Trump a “bad–s.” He said he still rejected many of the methods, including sending people to countries where they had no ties, and that he did not fully back ICE mass deportations. Maher has often walked a tightrope between criticizing and praising Trump, such as when he claimed to have standing with conservatives while still calling Trump supporters part of a cult.