Bill Maher slammed the establishment press for “mischaracterizing” what slain conservative icon Charlie Kirk actually believed. “I liked him as a person,” Maher said of Kirk. “I do not think he was a monster.”
“They’re doing a documentary [on Kirk], and they asked if I would be in it,” Maher revealed during Monday’s episode of his Club Random podcast, adding, “I said yes.”
“And I told them, ‘Don’t expect me to be just saying, you know, hey geography about Charlie.’ I liked him as a person,” Maher continued.
The Real Time with Bill Maher host then disclosed that he is glad he got to speak with Kirk before he was assassinated.
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“I’m glad I talked to him. I do not think he was a monster,” Maher said.
He then blasted the mainstream media for mischaracterizing the Turning Point USA founder’s beliefs.
“If you look at his statements — I’ve read the full statements, of course, because everybody is only interested in getting points for their team — they mischaracterized them,” Maher asserted.
“But even when I read the full statement, which were accurately characterized, I still disagreed with them. But it wasn’t what they presented,” he continued. “Again, it’s always in the middle. It wasn’t as bad as they said, but I still disagree.”
Comedian Jeff Dunham, Maher’s guest on the episode, then said he “loved” the Club Random interview with Kirk last year, noting that the two had a friendly conversation, even though they disagreed on certain political issues.
“What I loved about the interview is that you sat there and considered things and listened to him, let him talk, and it was a really great discussion,” Dunham said.
Kirk was murdered roughly five months after his conversation with Maher.
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“Everybody’s a ‘monster’ till you talk to them,” Maher pointed out, before saying that he has similar experiences with other conservatives who have been guests on his shows.
“Anna Paulina Luna? Love her,” he said. “We had a great time. I talked to her after the show. I was like, ‘If I had only known about you what I’d read, I would have thought [you were] crazy. You’re not crazy!’”
“That is my single biggest issue with the left,” Maher added. “They won’t talk to people.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.