This Is Extremely Dangerous to Our Democracy

0:00You're listening to Newsweek Radio. Irreverent news talk and opinion without agenda. From the 72nd floor of One World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan. This is Newsweek Radio. with your host, Jesse Edwards. Well, now that Jimmy Kimmel is coming back after basically having a long weekend off for making those stupid comments on his show about Charlie Kirkshuter being one of them conservatives and seeing how it's a relatively slow news day, relatively underlined, I thought I would take the moment to rehash something stupid another talk show host said not too long ago that people have mostly forgotten about, and that's Laura Loomer's$150 million lawsuit against Bill Maher after he suggested on his show a real time on HBO that Loomer was having an affair with Trump.

0:45I think maybe Laura Loomer's in an arranged relationship to affect the election because she's very close to Trump. She's 31. Looks like his type. We did an editorial here a few years ago. You're remembering it already. It was basically who's Trump fucking because I said, you know, it's not nobody. He's been a dog for too long. And it's not Melania. I think we may have our answer this week. I think it might be Laura Loomer. I'm just saying that happened in September of 2024. Just six months later, Bill Maher is having dinner with Trump in the White House, a bold move for somebody who up until that point had arguably been Trump's most brutal critic in mainstream media.

1:39A lot of Bill Maher's fans did not understand the move and they still don't. After Bill went on his own podcast and told them to F off. Kid Rock was here a couple of weeks ago and he said, I want you to meet Trump. He said, I'm going to take you to the White House. So now we're going to do that. And like, there will be lots of people on the left who will be like, how dare you talk to this man. I was like, fuck you. You know, I'm not playing this game. You gotta love this whole setup to frame the entire thing as some sort of chance encounter. It just happened to be dreamt up by Kid Rock after Marr had been calling Trump out as public enemy number one for the last decade.

2:14And now suddenly this huge shift just months after Trump's lackiest of lackeys drops$150 million lawsuit against Marr. The timing is highly suspicious. And now Bill Marr gets all defensive when his guests jokingly mention that he's basically MAGA now. You're You're not really coming around, Bill. I'm not coming around. There's no coming around. There's just what's true. This is true s***. Right. I don't come around. Look, I've been watching Real Time with Bill Maher for well over a decade now, and as a fan of the show and as somewhat of a seasoned media critic myself, in both my personal and professional opinion, Bill Maher has rounded his edge considerably, to say the least, when talking about Donald Trump.

2:54You don't even have to look any farther than the opening interview from last week's show with Trump's border czar Tom Homan. Talk about a total snore fest. No one did it better than President Trump. Like and love him, most successful. When it comes to border security and the safety of this nation, no one's done it better. Joe Biden, the first president in the history of this nation, that came into office and unsecured a border. I almost fell asleep. And Maher's producers know better, which is why I couldn't help but be reminded of all these goings-on after the Kimmel fiasco. Bill Maher is a comedian who gets paid very well to say stupid shit for a living that makes people laugh, and there are no rules in comedy, even if and especially when the host is comfortable and capable of joking around about politics and making good observations at the same time.

3:37Because there are no qualifiers in comedy. And if a comedian decides to dabble in serious commentary to bring contrast to their punchlines, that's a subjective matter of style and is still untouchable from government censorship. Even if Bill Maher crapped the bed for telling his viewers to F off for not immediately recognizing the opportunity to share an olive branch of diplomacy with the devil himself. How dare you talk to this man? I'm like, fuck you, you know, I'm not playing this game. At the time when Bill Maher made the joke about Laura Loomer sleeping with Donald Trump, there were a series of somewhat suggestive photographs going around online of Laura Loomer out on the campaign trail with Trump that showed very little, if any, space between the two while they were speaking close to each other face to face.

4:18So Bill Maher saw a picture that raised a lot of eyebrows, said out loud what a lot of people were already thinking, got hit with a defamation suit by Loomer for$150 million, and now has apparently watered down the show as some sort of act of contrition. And cover your ass. It's just a theory. I can't prove it. But speculation does have a time and place, and that's now. To say the thing that you're not supposed to say out loud is what makes a show funny and entertaining. You might not think that Bill Maher and Jimmy Kimmel are funny. That's fine. It's totally subjective and art is in the eye of the beholder.

4:49But just know that your favorite comedian is next in our retaliatory social justice warrior hellscape of a future world we find ourselves living in. This idea that we can't blend comedy with politics is ludicrous and the idea that any comedian needs to be fair and balanced is absolutely insane. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. If you want fair and balanced, go get it from all those news sources that claim to be unbiased. They're a dime a dozen. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. And many of us prefer our news from completely biased sources, so at least we know what we're getting.

5:21This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. It's called letting liberals be liberals and conservatives be conservatives. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. It's not that complicated, and there is this harebrained notion floating around that somehow... This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. Either liberal comedians should share conservative values, or the conservatives should share liberal values, or the comedians shouldn't talk about politics at all. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. Well, you know, for a free country, you people do have a lot of incredibly stupid and unsaid rules, don't you?

5:51This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. So you want Jimmy Kimmel to be more conservative by making fun of the left more often? This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. Oh, okay. Does that mean your conservative comedians are going to do the same thing and try to be more fair and balanced when talking about the left, too? This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. No, you're not going to do that? Well, you shouldn't, because that doesn't make any sense and you know it. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. You've got to live and let live, otherwise nobody's going to survive these culture wars.

6:20This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. I've got a little mantra that I like to repeat to myself as sort of a prayer that you've probably seen online as a meme over the years. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. But as a hardcore libertarian, I believe it like gospel, and it goes like this. Let the gays get married and let the rednecks have their guns. Let the atheists be atheists and the Christians be Christians, because America is about the freedom to live your life how you please. So smoke a bowl, eat a greasy burger, shoot your guns, praise Jesus, and wish those two fellas next door a happy honeymoon.

6:50This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. I really like that. And I know a lot of you out there listening do too. And I think this is the voice that we do need to hear more of in this country. Let the struggling late night liberal comedians do their shows. What threat are they to you if they suck as bad as you think they do? This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. That's what I'd ask Donald Trump if I ever had the chance. If Jimmy Kimmel is so unpopular, why do you let him get under your thin orange skin so much? It doesn't make any sense unless you're completely insecure. Which is a possibility with this guy, come on.

7:21And look, there aren't a whole lot of conservative comedians to use as a reference here, but let's take, I don't know, Adam Carolla for example. Big time conservative, kind of annoying, and also very hilarious. Why on earth would I want Adam Carolla to be more fair to the left when I want him to make fun of them because it's funny? This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. Dennis Miller? No, that guy's a hack. I don't know, I guess Andrew Schultz is funny. Why would I want him to change a thing? Are conservatives jealous that late-night broadcast TV only has liberal talk show hosts? What do they expect out of Hollywood?

7:51Conservatives aren't great at comedy anyway. They're much better at podcasting. Let the liberals host talk shows on dying networks for millions of dollars per show. Who cares? You wouldn't be acting so threatened by them unless they were saying something that got to you somehow. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. Look at Dave Chappelle talking about transvestites. Nothing should be off limits in comedy. So the trans community doesn't like it. So they speak out and let everybody know they don't like it. And that's where it should end. Free speech goes on whether you like it or not. That goes for Trump.

8:19That goes for the trans community. Same for conservatives and liberals. Do your thing and quit worrying about everybody else. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. The internet has not only inflated our egos to the point where we act like our own opinions are gospel, but that everyone else's opinions are somehow written in gold as well. Look, talk is cheap and lies are expensive, but how can I be offended by your beliefs unless I don't have much faith in my own to begin with? It's a serious question. And it's why it's no surprise to any of us that Trump is more preoccupied with late-night talk show hosts than lowering the cost of living for taxpayers.

8:52But because he's got the attention span of a fruit fly and the ego of a lowland gorilla, here we are. Sitting around waiting for a real leader to take charge. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. Well, I mean, it should be clear at this point that that's never going to happen. If anybody could save us from Trump, they would have done so by now. And it's too late. We've got no choice but to sit back and watch this moron wander around the store like a child breaking things until he exhausts himself and passes out. The only silver lining here is that most of us will live to see that moment that Trump is finally out of the picture due to his old age, which is equally as unacceptable as Biden's age, I might add.

9:29Because we need to stop electing anyone to the presidency over the age of 62. That needs to be the cutoff point so that if he or she wins a second term, they'll be out of office by the time they reach 70. Because nobody over the age of 70 should be in charge of the free world. There's too much at stake and it's extremely dangerous. We all deserve somebody in the White House who is in the prime of their life, not somebody who's becoming increasingly aware of their own mortality day by day. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. I wouldn't trust Trump to safely drive a golf cart alone, let alone the entire country.

10:00Not trying to be ageist, and it's not like there are any younger folks out there ready and waiting in the wings to lead responsibly after Trump. And you know, by younger folks, I'm talking about somebody in their 50s or 60s at most. I mean, Gavin Newsom is a slick politician, but can he lead? Can he get over his own personal woke ideologies long enough to make a difference for everybody? I'm not going to hold my breath, AOC. People think that she's got leadership capabilities. Well, you know, I'm starting to think that people with any real leadership skills are as far away from Washington, D.C.

10:29as possible. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. Did you see that Ted Cruz, of all people, pushed back against the FCC for intimidating broadcasters who air Jimmy Kimmel? I mean, tell me you're thinking about running in 2028 without telling me you're actually running in 2028, right? First he's against Trump, then he was for Trump, then he was against Trump again, now he's for Trump and starting to position himself like he's anti-Trump again. Because not only do we have the midterms coming up, but Ted Cruz has always wanted to throw his hat into the ring for the presidency. I have a really hard time taking him seriously, and I don't believe the American people would like Ted Cruz to the Oval Office in a million years, even though his imitation of the FCC commissioner was hilarious.

11:04He says, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. And apparently Nextstar Broadcasting has joined Sinclair Broadcasting in that they won't show Jimmy Kimmel's ABC return either. Nextstar said it will continue to preempt the program, quote, pending assurances that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve, unquote. In other words, reading between the lines, it sounds like they might take Kimmel back if he behaves himself. I'm sure a sincere apology wouldn't hurt either. Sinclair Broadcast Group, on the other hand, said it will keep Kimmel off of its stations.

11:37Together, the two companies control about one quarter of the ABC affiliates. Big deal, you know. I'm sure it's not great for ad revenue on the TV side of things, but most people watching Kimmel aren't staying up until 1130 to watch it because they're watching it on YouTube like everybody else. That's why Kimmel Live has over 20 million subscribers. Next star in Sinclair can do whatever they want with their handful of terrestrial stations that are bleeding cash anyway. Keeping or removing Kimmel isn't going to do anything to their bottom line. It's just another form of peacocking and virtue signaling to the right that they're proudly in Trump's sweaty pockets.

12:10This is extremely dangerous to our democracy. Maybe the two networks can put together enough cash to hire one of these conservative comedians to host a late night MAGA program on their network. I bet Dennis Miller's available. No, nobody in their right mind would try to launch a late-night talk show unless they were money laundering and looking for a way to burn through a lot of cash with zero return on investment. And hey, like they said in the producers, sometimes you can make more with a flop than you can with a hit. Think about it. No, I'm convinced that's how Hollywood runs these days, which might explain why they don't make any good movies anymore.

12:38I know, it's just a theory. A conspiracy theory, if you will. And until we can do it again, it's Newsweek Radio. I'm Jesse Edwards. Catch you next time. Bye. And we say bye-bye. Newsweek Radio is a member of the Trust Project. This is extremely dangerous to our democracy.