Watch: Megyn Kelly Savagely Fact-Checks Bill Maher Twice, Sets Him Straight on Trump and Jan. 6
Bill Maher, the host of HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher,” has been making the rounds to promote his new book, and to his credit, he’s been on shows most liberals won’t touch with a barge pole.
As a result, perhaps for the first time in a long time, the liberal talk show host is learning that the way he sees the world might not be as accurate as he believes.
On Monday, Maher appeared on “Gutfeld,” where he sparred with Fox News host Greg Gutfeld after claiming former President Donald Trump would not accept the results of the 2024 election should he lose, according to Fox News.
Maher appeared on “The Megyn Kelly Show” on Tuesday, where he attempted again to spout left-wing propaganda, but Kelly wasn’t about to let him get away with it.
Maher and Kelly locked horns over the issue of whether former presidential candidates have accepted or denied election results.
The discussion began with the HBO host saying Trump did not accept the results of the 2020 election. Kelly countered by reminding Maher that Democrat Hillary Clinton had also refused to accept her 2016 loss.
“Hillary Clinton, of course, is the original election denier. I’m sure you voted for her in ’16,” Kelly said.
“Well, she’s not an election denier,” Maher responded.
“She absolutely was the OG election denier,” Kelly said.
“She — first of all, she came out before the sun had risen to concede the election to Trump,” he said.
“And then spent the next four years saying he was illegitimate, he was an illegitimate president,” Kelly interjected, refusing to back down.
“OK, well, first of all, saying — she didn’t say he was an illegitimate,” Maher responded, “You tell me exactly what she said,” he asked.
“She said those exact words repeatedly,” Kelly shot back.
He then re-iterated that Clinton gave a concession speech and Trump did not.
In another contentious back-and-forth, Kelly challenged Maher on his description of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol incursion.
When Maher suggested that Trump would “show up at the White House whether he’s invited or not” if he lost the election, Kelly challenged him on it, saying, “Oh stop it, he’s not going to do that.”
“Like there was never an attack on the Capitol,” the HBO host responded. “That never happened. Like they didn’t show up at the Capitol and break windows and knock down doors and kill cops –”
“They didn’t do that,” Kelly cut in.
“They didn’t break windows, knock down doors?” he said.
“They didn’t kill cops,” she responded.
“They of course did,” Maher replied, raising his voice.
“No, they didn’t,” Kelly said calmly.
“Who did?” he asked. “They died of natural causes that day?”
“Yeah, nobody died that day,” Kelly responded.
“Cops,” Maher said.
“No,” Kelly replied. “Not true.”
“OK,” Maher said, laughing incredulously.
“Who?” she asked.
“I don’t remember the names,” he responded.
“They didn’t,” Kelly said confidently. “There was Brian Sicknick who died later after the fact.”
Megyn Kelly calls out Bill Maher’s lie that cops died on January 6th:
BM: “Like they didn’t show up to the Capitol and kill cops.”
MK: “They didn’t do that. They didn’t kill cops.”
BM: “They of course did. They died of natural causes that day!?”
*Smash cut to a news report saying… pic.twitter.com/Sz20nwdbzT— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) May 22, 2024
During his appearance on “Gutfeld” on Monday, Maher mocked the host for not being aware that Trump had once sued Maher over a comment comparing him to an orangutan.
“I didn’t know that,” Gutfeld said.
“Really? You’re in news?” Maher asked, as if Trump’s lawsuit against him 11 years ago were of vital national importance.
Bill Maher roasted Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld for being unaware that Trump once sued the comedian for comparing him to an orangutan. https://t.co/xC1oxj6Va8 pic.twitter.com/GMddTCXJcW
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) May 21, 2024
What is of national importance are the lies being accepted as truth about the Jan. 6 incursion.
Kelly was right, of course. Clinton did repeatedly call Trump an illegitimate president, and the only person who was killed on Jan. 6 was an unarmed protester named Ashli Babbit.
Brian Sicknick, the officer used as a cudgel against the Jan. 6 protesters, died on Jan 7, 2021. While it was initially reported that Sicknick succumbed to injuries caused by the protesters, a subsequent autopsy confirmed that Sicknick died of two strokes caused by natural causes, ABC News reported.
In an interview with The Washington Post, D.C.’s chief medical examiner, Francisco J. Diaz, said that “the autopsy found no evidence of internal or external injuries, or of an allergic reaction to the chemical substance.”
The autopsy also specified, “If death is hastened by an injury, the manner of death is not considered natural.”
Apparently, Maher didn’t get the memo.
Not only that, but he evidently thought there were cops, plural, killed on Jan. 6. (Two other police officers died by suicide afterward.)
The exchange reveals how deeply partisan messaging has distorted public understanding of the Capitol incursion, even among prominent media figures.
By repeating a lie so many times, they have begun to create their own narrative.
Kelly’s commitment to factual accuracy serves as an example of how such insidious falsehoods must be directly confronted and refuted.
Her calm yet firm rebuttals using verified information demonstrated the proper approach to counter disinformation that has taken root through the Democrats’ echo chamber.
As for Maher, his smug insistence on a completely false version of events, even when presented with facts, suggests he may need to rethink his overconfidence in his knowledge of complex political issues.
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