Bill Maher: Only DeSantis Can Beat Trump In Primary; Haley, Pence, Pompeo, And Others Help Trump If They Run

Comedian Bill Maher In an interview, Ron DeSantis, the Florida Republican Governor, stated that Trump cannot be defeated in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries. However, he said that Trump will win the nomination if there are too many Republican candidates.

Maher made the comments when CNN’s Jake Tapper questioned him Tuesday about former U.N. The possibility that Ambassador Nikki Haley could enter the race, as well as the possibility of former Secretary-of-State Mike Pompeo or former Vice President Mike Pence joining the race.

“Do you think any of them can take him out?” Tapper asked.

“No,” Maher replied. “But I think what they will do is ensure him the nomination. … The only way Trump doesn’t get that nomination is if it’s just him and DeSantis.”

“So, I despair about that, because I think when politicians smell the White House, they don’t care about the repercussions for the country,” Maher said. “They just want to go for it. DeSantis against Trump, I think, could get it.”

Tapper asked Maher later what his analysis of DeSantis was.

“Do you think that DeSantis is part of the old-school Republican tribe?” Tapper asked. “Or do you think he’s more of a Trumper 2.0?”

“That’s the great question,” Maher replied. “The reason he’s so effective is he does two things at once. He can be a real old-school Republican who just takes care of business. COVID, the hurricane, stuff like that, he just goes about his business. He doesn’t do crazy stuff. But then, when he wants to throw red meat to the base, he’s a performance artist.”

“But I get it that that’s where the party is. If you want a big future in that party, especially if you want to take on Donald Trump, you got to ride both those horses at once,” Maher continued. “Everybody keeps saying to me, ‘But he has no personality.’ I don’t think people care. Like, a lot of politicians don’t have personality. Nixon had no personality. I mean, I could name some politicians who have absolutely no personality. It’s not a prerequisite. … I mean, I don’t think that’s going to hold Ron DeSantis back.”

Tapper stated that he met a couple in Florida who were liberal Democrats and told him about them. “how much they loved Ron DeSantis” Because of his competence at “governance.”

“Also, while the rest of the country was overdoing COVID, flor– I was there during COVID. It was night and day from this place. And I am not one who is ever on the page with COVID paranoia. So, I thought it was a breath of fresh air,” Maher said. “And it turned out a lot of what Ron DeSantis did was smarter than what the people who were criticizing were saying. I mean, he kept the beaches open. Yes, you’re not going to get it outside. In fact, it’s good. Get some fresh air and some sunshine. That would be better for you. And he also protected the elderly. It was much more targeted. It was sort of the opposite of what happened in New York State.”

WATCH:

Bill Maher – who has made numerous correct predictions on Trump – says that only Ron DeSantis can beat Trump and that he will beat Trump if there’s a small number of candidates running.

He said that Trump, Haley and Pompeo will all hand the nomination to Trump, regardless of whether they run. pic.twitter.com/TTZCuqQ6xY

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 1, 2023

TRANSCRIPT:

TAPPER: If Donald Trump is challenged for the nomination – I mean, he’s obviously already being challenged by Governor Nikki Haley, and then there’s talk of other people.

MAHER: Right.

TAPPER: Governor DeSantis.

MAHER: Right.

TAPPER: And Mike Pompeo and others, Vice President Pence. Do you think any of them can take him out?

MAHER: No. But I think what they will do is ensure him the nomination.

TAPPER: By splitting all the alternates?

MAHER: Absolutely.

TAPPER: Same thing that happened before?

MAHER: Yes. The only way Trump doesn’t get that nomination is if it’s just him and DeSantis.

If it’s a bunch of people in there, yes, they’re going to split the anti-Trump vote, because, Trump has a very hard-core following. I mean, it’s a cult. And cults don’t ever go away. Look at Christianity!

So, I despair about that, because I think when politicians smell the White House, they don’t care about the repercussions for the country. They just want to go for it.

DeSantis against Trump, I think, could get it.

Somebody said to me once, a conservative guy, he said, “The thing you guys don’t understand about us is we don’t really like Trump.” Now that doesn’t speak for all the Trumpers. He definitely has some real fans.

TAPPER: Oh sure.

MAHER: But there’s a lot of people who voted for him, and that’s their little secret, “We don’t like him either. We just vote

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