Bill Maher, a liberal comedian and commentator, admitted on Monday that he was wrong to predict that President Donald Trump’s tariff policies would hurt the American economy, but they haven’t.
In an interview with progressive YouTube presenter Brian Tyler Cohen for his Club Randompodcast, Maher stated that he has always made an effort to be truthful with his viewers, even if it meant acknowledging that he made a mistake.
Maher started by citing tariffs as an example. Oh, the economy will be in ruins by July 4th, I recall saying, along with probably the majority of people. And I said, “Yeah, that makes sense to me.” However, that did not occur.
He went on: It hasn’t happened yet, but it might tomorrow. That’s simply the truth. And since that is uninteresting and dishonest, we must begin with fact rather than with the statement, “I just hate Donald Trump.”
Maher continued by saying that even if he doesn’t really comprehend Trump’s approach, the outcomes are indisputable.
According to him, the stock market is at all-time highs. I don’t see a nation in a depression as I drive around. Individuals are going about their daily lives. By now, I believed that these tariffs would completely collapse the economy. I was mistaken. I must take responsibility for it. How do we respond to that fact, then?
Cohen concurred, stating that he has ceased making audacious political predictions because of the tariff problem. He said, “Hillary Clinton would have been president in 2016 if I were good at predictions.”
Maher had criticized Trump’s strategy toward China back in April, calling it utterly incorrect. He even made a joke about hoping for a recession to force the administration to change its mind. He claimed at the time that Trump had chosen the wrong bully to fight with.
Asking his Real Time audience, “Why do we want to bring back manufacturing?” Maher has repeatedly questioned Trump’s efforts to resuscitate American industry. It’s very 1970s. He maintained that low-wage manufacturing was no longer feasible in the United States and that automation would probably replace any new factory jobs nonetheless. Maher claimed that he behaves as though development itself is progressive.
Trump’s tariff measures have changed international trade negotiations, despite intense criticism in the early going. In order to prevent what many feared would be a protracted trade war, the White House announced on Sunday a fresh deal with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, to put a 15% tariff on the majority of EU goods imported to the United States.
Maher’s open remarks represent a rare instance of gratitude from a strong Trump opponent and are indicative of a larger leftward reassessment on the practical effects of Trump’s economic policies.
