Bill Maher insists DeSantis would be ‘way better’ than Trump: ‘He’s not certifiably insane’

“Real Time” host Bill Maher pushed back against the notion that a President Ron DeSantis would be the same if not worse than having former President Donald Trump back in the White House.

Maher kicked off the panel discussion Friday night with the ongoing Jan. 6 House Select Committee hearings and cited a poll that showed “54%” of Americans believe the former president should be charged with a crime, “including 21% of Republicans. But the committee said they would not refer it to the Justice Department. Why?” Maher asked. Maher asked. It will happen again if we don’t. “

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“Breaking Points” podcast co-host Krystal Ball responded by knocking the “fundamental lack of seriousness” from Democrats for not tackling the question as to what truly led to the events of Jan. 6 where a large portion of the country does not believe in the results of the presidential election. She also panned the Democrat-led strategy of propping up Republicans in primary races who deny the 2020 election’s legitimacy with the hopes of defeating them easier in the November midterms.

“But, that’s not really what I am asking,” Maher said. “It’s true that the man robbed the liquor shop. Let’s investigate why. He must also be arrested for robbing the liquor shop. “

The Jan. 6 committee hearing is investigating whether President Donald Trump can be criminally charged for the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot over the 2020 election results.
(Getty Images)

Tablet Magazine columnist James Kirchick called Trump a “menace” who “may have committed crimes” but cautioned the prosecution of a former president, citing how former President Gerald Ford “did the right thing” by pardoning Richard Nixon after Watergate.

Ball said she has “no issue” with Trump being prosecuted, but insisted “that’s not going to solve our problem,” suggesting that the Republican Florida governor would follow in Trump’s footsteps.

“Does Ron DeSantis have the potential to be better than Donald Trump? Ball asked.

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“Yes, yes I do,” Maher quickly responded while raising his hand.

“He doesn’t show contempt for democracy,” Kirchick said to Ball.

“He is not necessarily insane. Maher stated, “That’s a great one for starting off with.” “You don’t know what Ron DeSantis will be doing? He won’t be poop tweeting every day. It won’t be like feuding with Bette Midler on twitter. He is not insane.

U.S. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
(Reuters)

Maher later pivoted back to Kirchick’s warning about prosecuting a former president, suggesting it could spark political violence across the country. That’s a dangerous road to take. It’s very dangerous,” Maher said to the columnist. “We need to be afraid of what criminals will do if they are charged for being criminals. It won’t work — that’s not the right way to go. “

Ball repeated her argument that Trump’s Jan. 6 crimes would not “fix the core problem.” “

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“Would you say that about criminal justice in general, that it doesn’t solve the problem?” Maher was curious.

“Sure,” Ball replied. “Of course. Yes, that is dealing with a symptom in our society. “

“Arresting criminals and putting them in jail does not help the problem of crime?” Maher asked his guest.

“She should run as DA in San Francisco,” Kirchick joked, referring to the recently fired progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin.