On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” Wesleyan University President Michael Roth said that the show’s host, comedian Bill Maher would “maybe not” be welcomed at the school, but he would be “given a hearing.”
Maher asked, “Do you think I could come on campus and speak and be welcomed?”
Roth responded, “Welcomed, maybe not. But certainly…given a hearing.”
Maher then said, “Okay, but I shouldn’t be welcomed? Someone who twice gave the Democrats $1,000,000? That’s not enough credentials to come on?”
Roth responded by joking that he’d welcome Maher if he came to campus with a million dollars.
Roth added, “We had Justice Scalia come to campus, and there were certainly many people, oh my gosh, how could we bring him here? He gave a really good talk. He spent the day on campus talking with students, they argued with him, welcomed was probably the wrong word, but they enjoyed the debate. And that’s what we want. We want people to enjoy the debate.” Which Maher agreed with.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett