Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis made an appearance on liberal comedian and actor Bill Maher's "Real Time" show where they talked about various topics, including handling the pandemic.
Between jokes and criticism, Maher asked DeSantis why he was running a presidential race against former President Donald Trump, who, according to the comedian, is practically guaranteed to win.
“If your campaign was going well, you wouldn't be on this show,” Maher joked to DeSantis.
The governor of Florida, first, indicated that he does believe he has a chance of winning the elections and, later, he criticized former President Trump because, according to him, he does not have the capacity to do all “the work.”
Then, the governor of Florida exploited one of the talking points that most drives his campaign: the management of the pandemic.
DeSantis recalled his positive record of handling COVID-19, where he stood out for quickly opening back up the economy, fighting mask mandates and mandatory vaccination.
Left-wing Bill Maher can admit this, but not Donald Trump.
“It’s unfair what they did to you because you did handle [COVID] better…You were right. You were like, let's protect the people who are most vulnerable and everybody else can go on with their lives.” pic.twitter.com/MSJN61edWj
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) September 30, 2023
“For example, COVID. I think we need accountability for what this government did to this country with the COVID restrictions mandates and lockdowns. Donald Trump is not gonna do that… He’s not going to clean house at CDC, NIH, FDA. I will do that,” said DeSantis, who later received unexpected praise from Maher.
"You were right. You did handle it better,” the comedian acknowledged to DeSantis regarding COVID-19. "They’re not giving you credit."
"It’s unfair what they did to you because you did handle it [COVID] better…You were right. You were like, let's target the people, protect the people who are most vulnerable, and everybody else can go on with their lives,” said the comedian, who also strongly criticized an article in the New York Times where DeSantis' work during the pandemic was questioned.
Maher is a controversial figure. Despite defining himself as a liberal (progressive), the comedian has been winning praise from the conservative world for questioning the woke ideology, the radical Democratic leadership and denouncing the decadence of California.
