During the Democratic Primary on Thursday, HBO host Bill Maher called for candidates like President Joe Biden to drop out of the race after a disappointing debate performance and declare California Governor Gavin Newsom as his replacement.
Maher took it one step further in his show “Real Time with Bill Maher” to liken the Trump-Biden choice to an episode of Happy Days, featuring The Fonz who jumps over a shark on water-skis (a symbol that has come to represent what happens when you run out of fresh ideas and have no other hope but resorting desperate measures).
In an op-ed for The New York Times published Monday, Maher wrote that “If our presidential politics were a TV show, it would be a series past its prime in desperate need of new characters.”
The op-ed came in the wake of repeated episodes on the campaign trail that suggest 81-year-old might be slowing down, notably during last Thursday’s debate when Biden appeared to lose his train of thought several times while talking with CNN moderators.
The Times’ editorial board said: “There is no reason for the party to risk the stability and security of the country by forcing voters to choose between Mr. Trump’s deficiencies and those of Mr. Biden.”
Maher has urged the Democratic Party to have an open convention, because he felt this would mobilize Democrats and help them take back the presidency.
“Democrats could not buy, with all of George Soros’s money, the enthusiasm, engagement and interest they would get from having an open convention,” Maher said, referring to the liberal billionaire who is a frequent supporter of progressive lawmakers.
Even The New York Times editorial board called on the president to withdraw from politics for his cynicism. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a comparable editorial the next day.
“He is forceful, is never at a loss for words or stats, never stumbles, is never intimidated. He’s unbullyable, and that’s important against Mr. Trump,” the political satirist said.
Newsom being placed on the ticket would mean that Vice President Kamala Harris would have to be dropped or switch positions, thus allowing California 54 electors to vote for a president and VP from their own state, Maher said. According to a Politico poll from June, Harris ranks nearly as unfavorably with Biden at 52%.
