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Comedian and podcast host Bill Maher called out deep-blue California on Monday and said the state’s voters would always support a Democrat, even if their policies were failing, as long as President Donald Trump was associated with the Republican Party.
During an interview on “Club Random” with David Foster, Maher argued that California would never vote for a Republican as long as Trump was involved in the party.
Maher noted Spencer Pratt, a Republican who finished third in Los Angeles’ mayoral race and therefore did not advance to the general election, had the instinct that California had a “failed system,” and Maher agreed.
“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.”
Bill Maher argued California will never vote for a Republican as long as President Donald Trump is involved in the party, even as failures mount. (Noam Galai/Getty Images)
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“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,” he continued.
Psychotherapist and author Jonathan Alpert told Fox News Digital, “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?”
Maher also compared government-run grocery stores to “what they looked like” in Cuba and the Soviet Union.
Spencer Pratt, a Republican who finished third in Los Angeles’ mayoral race, did not advance to the general election. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
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“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 Foster and Maher said it “doesn’t” work.
Maher has been outwardly critical of California’s policies, including education.
He was critical of California Democrats during his “Real Time” show in July over education and green energy, arguing that Mississippi and Texas are outperforming the deep-blue state on issues Democrats often campaign on.
The comedian also compared government-run grocery stores to “what they looked like” in Cuba and the Soviet Union. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)
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“Democrats, these are your issues: education, race, the environment,” Maher said. “And I say this with love: you’re losing to the Waffle House, car-on-the-lawn states.”
Maher said California’s school outcomes were especially difficult to defend when compared with Mississippi, citing fourth-grade results for Black students.
“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?” Maher asked.
“Mississippi is kicking our a– in education and for way less money. We’re 37th in fourth-grade reading. They’re ninth,” he said.
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Maher was citing a Feb. 9, 2026 New York Times article which stated, “For anyone familiar with civil rights history, national testing results are astonishing. 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.”
The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Programs snapshots show Black fourth-graders in Mississippi at 19% proficient and 2% advanced in reading, compared with 7% proficient and 1% advanced in California.
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In fourth-grade math, Mississippi’s Black students were listed at 22% proficient and 2% advanced, compared with 10% proficient and 1% advanced in California.
Fox News’ CJ Womack contributed to this report.