Bill Maher Says People Need to ‘Triage' Trump Outrage and ‘Make Some Rational Decisions About What to Lose Our S– Over'
'Let's take stock of the first half of the first year of Trump's second term, and make some rational decisions about what to lose our shit over,' Bill Maher urged during Friday's 'Real Time' in the 'New Rules' segment.
Specifically, he urged people to ignore things like 'Gulf of America' and focus on more dire matters, like the 'domestic army of masked troops' in ICE terrorizing U.S. cities and residents.
More from TheWrap
Ali Velshi Says Trump Sees Base as 'Marks' but His 'MAGA Machine Is Glitching' Over Epstein | Video
'Chief of War' Release Guide: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
The Best Fantasy Shows on Hulu Right Now
Chuck Lorre and Leanne Morgan Talk Centering Middle-Aged Women in 'Leanne': 'Hollywood Has Ignored Them'
To set the commentary up, Maher related an encounter he says he had with a fan who brought up something the Trump administration did, asking if Maher was angry about it. About that, Maher said, 'I'm not. I'm not incensed. I'm sure you're right. I just don't have room,' Maher said, and after some more riffing on the specific Trump subject, added, 'right after he got elected in November, I said, here and everywhere else I could, he got the White House, but this time, he's not going to get my mind. There's only so many f—s to give.'
Maher noted that 'Steve Bannon famously said that the way you win is to flood the zone with s—. You want to help him with that? Great you do you, but I'm not chasing every brain fart down the rabbit hole. So therefore, here is my 1/8 of the term scorecard for what actually matters: Turning the Environmental Protection Agency into the pollution Protection Agency. Yes, that's going to matter. All the people who will lose health care and all the debt that will be run up from the big, beautiful bill. Yes, that matters.'
'Turning the Justice Department into the national revenge agency, firing all the inspector generals, maybe firing the head of the Federal Reserve, letting Doge destroy lives here and abroad in a way that didn't have to go down like that in order to slim the government down, which it didn't do anyway, creating a Domestic army of masked troops, rounding people up and sending them off to detention centers and foreign prisons? Yeah,' he continued.
'The big, beautiful bill is $150 billion in IT for additional spending for snatching people up who've lived here peacefully and productively for decades, mostly with no criminal records. I'm just saying if you're thinking of getting your car wash. You might want to do it now,' Maher joked, bleakly.
'So, yeah, there's a lot of outrageous, horrible shit going on,' Maher went on — though he did note he's glad people don't have to take their shoes off in airports anymore.
'It's just that life is complicated, and Democrats need to be less emotional and more focused,' Maher said, listing some other issues he thinks doesn't rise to the importance of the previously mentioned crises.
'Get a life, stop making [Trump] your whole personality,' Maher also said, adding somewhat later, at the end, 'So please, when I'm out there, no more 'Bill, did you just see what he did today?' If you're if you don't even have to say who 'he' is, you already lost, because 'he' is already living too rent-free in your head.'
Watch the whole commentary below:
The post Bill Maher Says People Need to 'Triage' Trump Outrage and 'Make Some Rational Decisions About What to Lose Our S– Over' appeared first on TheWrap.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
a minute ago
- Forbes
Texas Democrats Flee State To Halt GOP Redistricting Bid—Abbott Threatens Their Removal
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott late on Sunday warned the state's Democratic lawmakers—who fled the state to prevent a vote on a GOP-led redistricting effort—that they will be removed from office unless they return to Austin by Monday afternoon. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Texas Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D) listen as Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu speaks to reporters during a press conference at the DuPage County Democratic Party headquarters in Carol Stream, Illinois. Getty Images More than 50 Democratic state lawmakers left the state on Sunday afternoon and flew to Chicago to deny the quorum needed to pass the Republicans' proposed new congressional maps, which could help the GOP gain up to five additional seats in the midterms. The 150-member Texas House needs at least 100 lawmakers to be present to conduct its business and pass legislation. In a statement on X, the Texas House Democratic Caucus accused the GOP and Abbott of using a special House session called to deal with last month's flooding in Central Texas 'as political cover' to pass their redrawn maps. Late on Sunday evening, Illinois' Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker joined a few of the Texas Democrats for a press conference in a Chicago-area suburb and said: 'Donald Trump is trying to cheat the system in Texas, but these Democratic legislators refuse to let it happen without a fight.' Pritzker said his administration is 'going to do everything we can to protect every single one of them,' amid Abbott's demand for their extradition. 'Governor Abbott has turned the victims of a tragedy into political hostages in his submission to Donald Trump. We will not allow disaster relief to be held hostage to a Trump gerrymander. As of today, this corrupt special session is over,' the Texas House Democratic Caucus said in its statement. What Has Gov. Greg Abbott Said? In a statement issued on Sunday night, Abbott bashed the Democratic lawmakers, saying: 'Real Texans do not run from a fight. But that's exactly what most of the Texas House Democrats just did.' He said being present for the special session was their 'duty' and not 'optional,' adding: 'The absconded Democrat House members were elected to meet and vote on legislation—not to prevent votes that may not go their way.' He then added: 'This truancy ends now,' warning that the Democrats must return to the state and be in attendance, 'when the House reconvenes at 3:00 PM on Monday, August 4, 2025.' Abbott warned that if they don't return, he will move to 'remove the missing Democrats from membership in the Texas House.' The governor said he will use a non-binding August 2021 opinion issued by the state's Attorney General, Ken Paxton, to initiate the removal. Paxton opined in 2021 that any lawmaker who attempts to break quorum intentionally could be removed from office due to 'abandonment' of their duties. The Texas House Democrats responded to Abbott's threats to remove their membership from the state House with a single sentence: 'Come and take it.'
Forbes
a minute ago
- Forbes
No Friends In The Pipeline: Why 300,000 Black Women Were Pushed Out Of The Workforce
A recently published MSNBC article made headlines for a shocking stat: nearly 300,000 Black women have exited the American labor force in the last three months. The article attributes the mass exodus to reasons like federal job cuts and the dismantling of DEI programs, with issues like inflation, student loan debt, automation, and underrepresentation in growing tech sectors creating a compounded economic risk for Black women. This phenomenon not only hurts Black women but has a ripple effect for the entire U.S. economy, resulting in a loss in the country's gross domestic product (GDP). A less-discussed issue that must be considered is how what is happening is also the cause of a widening network gap faced by Black women. A 2019 article from LinkedIn's Vice President of Social Impact, Meg Garlinghouse, explored the network gap: the unequal access a person has to opportunities based on who they know. Garlinghouse's article cited research that indicates that 70% of professionals get hired at jobs where they know someone who works there. A 2020 study by Chika O. Okafor indicated that non-white job candidates get fewer jobs through referrals because their social network is smaller. With the anti-DEI legislation and a wave of corporate DEI rollbacks, many companies have deprioritized DEI, dismantling programs and initiatives like employee resource groups (ERGs), which provide key opportunities to boost one's professional network. According to Catalyst, ERGs can be thought of as 'voluntary, employee-led groups that foster inclusive work environments aligned with business values, goals, and objectives.' Often ERGs focus on a shared identity (race, religion, being a parent, LGBTQIA+ status, etc.). ERGs provide employees with pathways to network, connect across departments, find mentors, and build relationships but many organizations are quietly shuttering their ERGs amid growing anti-DEI sentiments. Having less opportunities to be in community with employees at different levels in an organization can exacerbate the network gap that Black women face. Mentorship and sponsorship programs, which are often perceived to be DEI or DEI-adjacent, may be halted in the current climate, even though these programs can play an instrumental role in employees' careers, and Black women's career advancement. A wealth of research indicates that Black women leading Fortune 500 companies, as well as those in education, medicine, and tech, routinely report feelings of both hypervisibility and invisibility. Organizational psychologist Dr. Kecia M. Thomas has highlighted the pet to threat concept in her research: the phenomenon in Black women's career trajectories where they go from being the 'pet,' where they are well-liked and celebrated but exploited, to being the 'threat,' where they are seen as posing a risk to the status quo. A 2023 report from Exhale indicated that 36% of Black women have exited a job because they felt unsafe. Black women face a slew of inequities in the workplace and must deal with issues of gendered racism and the angry Black woman stereotype. A 2024 Harvard study also found evidence that when Black women have a higher percentage of white team members, they are more likely to leave their job and less likely to be promoted, revealing the systemic inequities that are entrenched in the workplace. The rise of AI may be making the problem worse. Many of the AI tools that companies lean on to help with hiring decisions may exacerbate existing biases, contributing to hiring gaps when it comes to Black women. Black women are overrepresented in jobs roles that are vulnerable to AI and automation, explained executive leadership coach Margaret Spence in a LinkedIn article. These factors in conjunction with the dismantling of corporate DEI programs makes building and sustaining professional networks for Black women more challenging. What can organizations do to address this issue? First off, workplaces should be intentional about providing employees with opportunities to network with each other. Do you have active mentorship and sponsorship programs in place? If not, how can you get them started? Ensure that equity is foundational in your workplace; frequently audit company policies and practices to ensure fairness and disaggregate employee feedback from anonymous channels, focus groups, and surveys to better understand Black women's experiences. What are Black women saying when they leave your organization? Assess exit interview data to see if patterns are emerging from the Black women who have left. The current anti-DEI legislation was implemented to sow fear and confusion in the workplace. Be aware of the ever-changing laws and stay up to date on local legislation. Consult with legal counsel to better understand what DEI practices are legal. Despite popular misconceptions, there are still many ways to drive fairness and equity while complying with state and federal laws. For Black women, there are some ways to address the network gap. Building community intentionally is vital. Consider joining different community groups, whether in-person or virtually, that align with your goals. This could be an online community for Black women in law, for example, or a meetup group for Black women in cybersecurity. If the community you are seeking doesn't exist, think about ways to create it. Also consider intentional networking on LinkedIn. Many see the platform as a place to go only when job searching but it can also be a great place to build networks, find your people and directly engage with community members. Black women's mass exodus from the U.S. labor market is caused by several different factors. While some reasons, like the DEI rollbacks and federal job cuts, are more obvious, there are issues that are more insidious at play. It's important that we understand what the antecedents are and put measures in place to ensure that Black women are given the support that is needed to thrive. When Black women are given the tools to succeed, everyone across the board will benefit.
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why copper, aluminium and steel are at the core of Trump's MAGA ideology
Like the US government's country-specific tariffs, the hefty 50% levies on all steel, copper and aluminium imports go beyond economics — reflecting Trump's desire to reclaim once-dominant US industries and rally his blue-collar base. "Much of the motivation for tariffs on the base inputs of production, such as copper, is primarily a political motivation," David Stritch, a senior FX Analyst at Caxton, told Euronews. "Trump has on several occasions become frustrated at the reversal in the production of all three materials, away from the United States, which was the dominant global producer as recently as the 1980's, and towards Chile for copper and China for steel and aluminium," he continued. Trump has long framed steel and aluminium as the backbone of American strength, linking their production to economic survival as well as national security. During his first term in 2018, he underscored just how central he believes these industries are. "A strong steel and aluminium industry are vital to our national security. Absolutely vital," Trump said. "Steel is steel. You don't have steel, you don't have a country. Our industries have been targeted for years and years — decades, in fact — by unfair foreign trade practices leading to the shuttered plants and mills, the laying off of millions of workers, and the decimation of entire communities. And that's going to stop, right? It's going to stop," he declared at the time. When it comes to copper, the US currently imports around half of its resources, mostly from Chile and Canada. On Wednesday, copper prices fell sharply before the 1 August deadline for the implementation of new tariffs, with US copper futures sinking 20% to around $4.55 or €3.94 per pound, marking the largest intra-day fall on record. This came after US copper prices surged to new records in July when Trump first announced the levy. Again taking investors by surprise, the president then announced this week that the raw material — as opposed to semi-finished products — would be exempt from the duty, threatening less of a supply squeeze. Imports of copper concentrate and cathodes won't be affected by new levies, although shipments of wire, pipes, and sheeting will be. Meanwhile the doubling of steel and aluminium tariffs, to 50% from their previous 25% tariff rate, has significantly raised US domestic metal prices, cutting off cost-competitive imports and increasing volatility for manufacturers. Higher input costs and shrinking availability are forcing US companies to consider reshoring their investments and redesigning their supply chains. Whether or not tariffs will actually boost domestic production nonetheless remains to be seen, as levies imposed by Trump during his first term failed to do so. By 2024, US steel output was actually 1% lower than in 2017, before Trump's initial tariffs, while aluminium production had declined by nearly 10%. According to recent analysis, Trump's tariffs could raise manufacturing costs by up to 4.5%, squeezing narrow-margin sectors like EVs and appliances, as well as delaying investment in key manufacturing hubs across the country. Industries 'snatched away' from the US For most of the 20th century, the United States was the world's top copper producer until Chile took this title, marking the end of US dominance. Today, Chile remains the largest global producer of the metal. In terms of steel production, the US peaked in the early 1970s before the industry faced a prolonged collapse, deepened by a series of recessions. Cheaper and more efficient systems in Japan, South Korea, Europe and elsewhere undercut high-cost US integrated steel mills. A strong dollar also made foreign steel even cheaper, while domestic plants were burdened with aging equipment, high labour contracts and rising environmental costs. Steel towns — the ones Trump now wants to reinvigorate nearly 50 years later — collapsed economically, despite government interventions to keep them afloat. This is why the region from New York through the Midwest continues to be called the Rust Belt, referring to corroding mills and production sites that have long fallen out of use. Related Copper prices near an all-time high amid Trump's tariff threats, China's stimulus US copper prices soar after Trump threatens 50% tariff on imports In terms of aluminium, the US was the world's leading aluminium producer for much of the 20th century, largely due to the abundance of cheap electricity needed for smelting and strong domestic demand from defence, aerospace and automotive industries. In the early 2000s, China overtook the US as the leading producer of aluminium. "Trump's greatest base of support, primarily blue collar non-college educated men, has seen the largest drop in employment opportunities as a result of this offshoring," Stritch told Euronews. Increasing costs, especially in green-adjacent industries Trump's sweeping 50% tariffs on copper, steel and aluminium are likely to disrupt industries that rely heavily on these materials, from construction and defence and even green technologies. "Practically, all three materials are used extensively from solar panels to car batteries, one may assume that it would thus be the US manufacturing base that suffers to the largest extent," Stritch continued. Nowhere is this pressure felt more acutely than in sectors like electric vehicles and renewable energy, where these metals are essential and profit margins are already minimal. Stritch added: "We may further speculate that owing to the high tariff placed on these goods and the general fragility of the electric car market at present, the high inputs of all three materials and the thin average industry profit margin of 5%, EV producers may endure the worst of the increased input costs." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
