Comedian and podcast host Bill Maher argued this week that California voters will keep backing Democrats no matter how badly the state’s policies perform, simply because President Donald Trump remains the face of the Republican Party.
Speaking on “Club Random” with David Foster, Maher pointed to Spencer Pratt, a Republican who placed third in Los Angeles’ mayoral race and did not advance to the general election, as someone who correctly sensed that California has a “failed system.” Maher said he agreed with that assessment.
“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. “Which, I understand, because he does a lot of things that are I mean, plus, Jesus, I mean, I get a lot of s— from him for the things I criticize just off the top of my head, vulgar, corrupt, doesn’t concede elections, you know, inept at things that sometimes were a good idea to begin with. Close the border, you know, get rid of nuclear weapons in Iran, but f—ed up the 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 and author Jonathan Alpert told Fox News Digital that the dynamic Maher described isn’t unique to one party. “This isn’t just a California or Democratic problem. Republicans can fall into the same trap. Once politics becomes part of your identity, it’s remarkably easy to excuse things from your own side that you’d be furious about if the other side did them. That’s the bigger problem Maher is getting at. If politicians know you’ll vote for them no matter what, why should they be afraid of failing you?”
Grocery Stores and the Soviet Comparison
Maher also weighed in on the idea of government-run grocery stores, drawing a comparison to Cuba and the Soviet Union.
“I don’t think we should have government-run grocery stores. I remember what they looked like in Cuba and the Soviet Union. It wasn’t great. You know, kids, we tried this s—,” Maher said. Both Maher and Foster agreed the model “doesn’t” work.
A Recurring Critique of California’s Record
This isn’t the first time Maher has taken aim at California’s governance. In July, on his “Real Time” show, he argued that Mississippi and Texas are beating California on the very issues Democrats typically campaign on, including education and green energy.
“Democrats, these are your issues: education, race, the environment,” Maher said at the time. “And I say this with love: you’re losing to the Waffle House, car-on-the-lawn states.”
Maher cited a stark education gap in that segment. “Did you know that a Black fourth grader in Mississippi is 2.5 times as likely to be proficient in math and reading as one in California?” he asked. “Mississippi is kicking our a– in education and for way less money. We’re 37th in fourth-grade reading. They’re ninth.”
The figure traces to a February 9, 2026 New York Times article, which noted that “a Black Mississippi child is two and a half times as likely to be proficient in reading by fourth grade as a Black California child.” Data from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress back up the disparity: Black fourth-graders in Mississippi scored 19% proficient and 2% advanced in reading, compared with 7% proficient and 1% advanced in California. In math, Mississippi’s Black fourth-graders were 22% proficient and 2% advanced, versus 10% proficient and 1% advanced in California.
