Comedian Bill Maher stated that California voters will continue to support Democrats, even in the face of policy failures, as long as former President Donald Trump remains associated with the Republican Party. Maher made these remarks during an interview on the podcast "Club Random" with David Foster.
Maher agreed with Spencer Pratt, a Republican who ran for Los Angeles mayor, that California’s system is failing. However, Maher asserted that the state’s strong bipartisan alignment means voters will prioritize opposing Trump over electing a Republican, regardless of Democratic performance. "It just shows that, in this state, I guess everywhere, we're so bipartisan now, that we will accept failure, which we plainly have here in California, over voting for the party of Trump," Maher said.
He described Trump as vulgar, corrupt, unwilling to concede elections, and inept. Maher also criticized some of Trump's policy ideas, such as closing the border and removing nuclear weapons from Iran, for their poor execution.
"As long as he's there, this state will never vote for a Republican, no matter how bad the Democrat gets. And that is a bad place to be," Maher added.
Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert commented to Fox News Digital that this phenomenon extends beyond California and the Democratic Party. Alpert suggested that when politics becomes intertwined with personal identity, people tend to excuse actions from their own side that they would condemn if done by the opposition. He noted that this dynamic can lead politicians to disregard voters if they believe their support is unconditional.
Maher also drew parallels between government-run grocery stores in the U.S. and those he observed in Cuba and the Soviet Union, describing them as unappealing. Both Maher and Foster agreed that such government-run initiatives do not work.
This is not the first time Maher has been critical of California's policies. In July, he criticized Democratic leadership on his show "Real Time" regarding education and green energy, pointing out that states like Mississippi and Texas have demonstrated better outcomes in these areas.
Maher specifically cited educational performance, highlighting that a Black fourth-grader in Mississippi is 2.5 times more likely to be proficient in math and reading than a Black child in California. He referenced a February 9, 2026 New York Times article that stated this statistic and noted that in fourth-grade reading proficiency, Mississippi ranked ninth nationally, while California was 37th. In math, Black fourth-graders in Mississippi showed 22% proficiency and 2% advanced, compared to 10% proficiency and 1% advanced in California. The same article showed Black fourth-graders in Mississippi at 19% proficient and 2% advanced in reading, compared to 7% proficient and 1% advanced in California.