Marc Maron Roasts Bill Maher for Cozying Up to Trump, Kid Rock

Bill Maher says that Donald Trump is right to try to abolish the Department of Education, but Marc Maron is ready to step up and give the smarmy centrist some schooling.

Despite describing himself as a “practical” liberal, the Real Time host has been comparatively warmer toward the second and significantly more reactionary Trump administration than he was toward the first Trump term. Shortly before Trump’s most recent inauguration, Maher claimed to have a “wait and see” approach to the president’s agenda, but the wait is over. According to Maher’s recent comments, Trump is a mixed bag, and the immediate crashing of the economy, the aggression toward our country’s closest allies, the annihilation of the federal workforce and the deliberate weakening of national security are all balanced out by Trump’s move to shutter numerous federal agencies whose responsibilities Maher doesn’t understand.

But the most unconscionable aspect of Maher’s shift to the right has to be how he continues to pretend that Republican National Convention performer Kid Rock is a great musician and person, an objectively trash take that Maron apparently considers to be a bridge too far. In a recent episode of his podcast WTF, Maron lambasted Maher to his guest W. Kamau Bell, imitating the late-night host as saying, “I like Kid Rock,” then addressing Maher, “Now you’re gonna blow him with a slightly disdainful look on your face? That’s who you are?”

Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie and who grew up in his wealthy father’s mansion as opposed to in a trailer park as his constructed stage persona would suggest, is a perennial guest on Maher’s various talk shows, including on Real Time where Maher told him during an episode last month, “I’m a big fan of your music, not the early rap s--t, but once you became a singer.” Maron has clearly taken issue not just with Maher’s congeniality toward’ the MAGA elite who campaign for fascists, but with Maher spreading his own disinformation about Kid Rock’s gurgling vocals.

But Maron’s main criticism of Maher is how HBO’s resident “both sides are equally stupid but the Democrats are stupider” talking head continues to humanize and excuse an executive branch that’s waging a war on the checks and balances enshrined in the Constitution. During the WTF episode, Maron told his Bell, “Are you going to be like Bill Maher, you know, ‘I’m going to agree with some of the things that Trump is doing,’” then saying of the Club Random host whose recent career has seen him parroting conservative culture warrior talking points, “It’s like, dude, you’re a bitch.”

Maron, who has long been a political comedian with significantly more backbone and background knowledge than Maher, wrote a blog post about comedy’s complicity in the rise of fascism back in October, positing, “The anti-woke flank of the new fascism is being driven almost exclusively by comics, my peers. Whether or not they are self-serving or true believers in the new fascism is unimportant. They are of the movement. Whether they see themselves as acolytes or just comics doesn’t matter. Whether they are driven by the idea that what they are fighting for is a free speech issue or whether they are truly morally bankrupt racists doesn’t matter.”

“They are part of the public face of a fascist political movement that seeks to destroy the democratic idea,” Maron argued while comedians like Joe Rogan, Andrew Schulz and Theo Von were actively participating in Trump’s successful re-election campaign through their popular podcasts.

While Maron may not have been talking specifically about Maher before the recent general election, he certainly has the Real Time host in his sights today. How long until Maher accuses Maron of going “full woke” while playing ass-grab with Ted Nugent?