Bill Maher and Matt Gaetz engaged in a heated exchange over the GOP’s role in the 2020 election during a recent podcast episode. The conversation, which aired Sunday on Maher’s Club Random, quickly escalated as Gaetz, the former Florida congressman, tried to defend Republicans’ actions around Trump and the election, while Maher didn’t hold back, calling out what he saw as blatant hypocrisy.
The two dove into topics like Trump’s inauguration, the idea of a peaceful transition of power, and the chaos that surrounded the 2020 handover from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. Maher made it clear he saw a sharp distinction between Democrats labeling Trump an “illegitimate president” and the Republican-led attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, including the January 6th insurrection.
Things took a more intense turn when Gaetz tried to deflect Maher’s criticism by pointing out that Democrats had also undermined election results. Maher wasn’t having it.
“You’re right,” Gaetz said, trying to make a comparison. “This past week, we had a wonderful January 6th. The last time a Republican president was elected, Democrats didn’t object to the electors. Do you know when the last time that was?”
Maher shot back, calling the claim “bullshit.” He pointed out that objecting to an election result was one thing, but Republicans had done far more than that in 2020, including pressuring the Justice Department to back their false claims, calling Georgia officials to “find” votes, filing multiple baseless lawsuits, and even submitting fake electors. Maher wasn’t pulling any punches, saying, “Don’t give me bullshit! And we’ll be friends. Bullshit me, though? I’ll still be friends, but then I’ll think you’re a hack, not someone who can have an honest conversation and admit this asymmetry exists.”
Gaetz, unfazed, stuck to his stance that there was no real difference between the two sides. “I don’t believe it’s asymmetrical at all,” he said. He then pivoted to criticize how Democrats, in his view, “used an authoritarian push” to replace Joe Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, with Biden himself, mocking the process as a “Mississippi square dance.”
Maher, clearly frustrated, wrapped up the back-and-forth by telling Gaetz that he was surprised by how sharp he was in person, compared to the more bombastic media persona he often displayed.
Watch the clip below:
