Comedian and political pundit Bill Maher drew groans from his audience after appearing to compare Donald Trump voters to the late civil rights icon Rosa Parks.
On Friday’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, the host took aim at MSNBC over a segment in which chief psychiatric resident at Yale University, Amanda Calhoun, told Joy Reid that it is totally fine to avoid Trump supporting relatives this holiday season.
“How pure,” Maher said. “It’s like not letting certain people sit with you on the bus,” he added as a photo of Parks appears on screen.
The joke fell flat as members of Maher’s audience groaned in response.
“I mean, think about that–a mental health professional advising people to isolate during the holidays and don’t forget to drink too much and put on weight,” he continued after a brief pause. “And at this Thanksgiving before the big meal, remember to take turns saying what you’re hateful about.”
“You know who I really wouldn’t want to have Thanksgiving dinner with? This overly educated, i.e., extremely stupid ivory tower academic,” he said. “But I would! Because if we ever want this nation to heal, this is what we have to do. Force ourselves to reach out and find out why someone feels the way they do and make the choices they make without prejudging them a monster.”
