Bill Maher, a comedian and TV personality, believes that Democrats need to seriously reflect on their performance after Vice President Harris lost the 2024 White House election to President-elect Trump this week.
During his “Real Time” monologue on Friday night, Maher addressed the defeat, stating, “My message to the losers: losers look in the mirror.” He added, “No? Well, maybe you should. Sorry. Well, that’s my feeling. Losers look in the mirror.”
Maher pointed out that for months, Democrats had questioned how the election could even be close, and he agreed with their concerns, adding, “They could not conceive of a second Trump term, but they should’ve. When does America ever turn down seconds?”
Trump’s success was noted by Maher, who emphasized that the president-elect dominated by securing all seven battleground states. He also acknowledged that Trump made strides in appealing to more demographics and gained ground in traditionally Democratic strongholds.
“He has an amazing coalition,” Maher remarked. “He kept the old crowd that likes him. He got a lot of new voters. He got a lot of people who say they just want to see what he’ll do.”
In the result of the election, Democratic leaders have been debating the party’s future direction and messaging. There are differing opinions on whether the party has abandoned the working class or if it has shifted too far left, alienating moderate voters in swing states.
Back in late September, Maher had confidently predicted Trump’s loss to Harris in November, saying, “I’m not even worried about it.” Maher also criticized Harris for failing to present a compelling case for her candidacy and for not running a perfect campaign.
“I think America is perfectly willing to elect a woman. They just didn’t like the last two that were put up,” Maher commented, later adding that the vice president “didn’t make a good case” and instead chose to ignore past issues that were unpopular with voters.