Comedian Bill Maher and Vice President J.D. Vance disagree on a host of issues, but the liberal talk-show host gave the Republican props for appearing on his show — and dinged key Democrats for ducking him.
Mr. Maher said former Vice President Kamala Harris, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani are among the Democratic Party stars taking a pass on his popular HBO talk show, “Real Time With Bill Maher.”
After the studio audience welcomed Mr. Vance, Mr. Maher quipped, “Do I have the nicest crowd?”
Mr. Vance joked: “I’m sure it’s the only applause I’ll get, but I’ll take it.”
That prompted Mr. Maher to name names.
“I’m just glad you’re talking to me, you know,” he said. “I mean, I say it every time, when the Republicans come here, they take their beating like a man. It’s the people I vote for, they’re the ones who won’t talk to me. It’s odd, isn’t it?”
Mr. Vance agreed: “It is very odd.”
The vice president has shown he has no fear of unfriendly media outlets as he promotes his new book, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith.”
Ten days ago, he ran the gauntlet of leftist feminists on ABC’s “The View,” charming co-host Joy Behar to the point where colleague Sunny Hostin accused her of being “in love with J.D. Vance.”
On Friday’s show, Mr. Vance asked Mr. Maher if he planned to invite “this new woman who was elected to New York,” apparently referring to Darializa Avila Chevalier, the far-left activist who upset Rep. Adriano Espaillat in Tuesday’s Democratic congressional primary.
“Do you think she’ll come on the show?” asked Mr. Vance.
Mr. Maher replied: “No, I can’t get AOC, I can’t get Mamdani, I couldn’t get Kamala Harris.”
He added that it took eight years to convince former President Barack Obama to sit for an interview. Mr. Obama appeared on the show in November 2016.
“Anyway, let’s not talk about my problem,” said Mr. Maher. “And I promise this is going to be a lot easier than talking to the Iranians. Or even more, ‘The View.’”
Cracked Mr. Vance: “The question is whether it’s harder than ‘The View.’”
Bill Maher to JD Vance: “I’m just glad you’re talking to me, you know? I mean, I say it every time, the Republicans come here and they take their beating like a man. It’s the people I vote for, they’re the ones who won’t talk to me! That’s odd, isn’t it?” pic.twitter.com/4YftrW33U1
— Thomas Sowell Quotes (@ThomasSowell) June 27, 2026
One reason Democrats may be avoiding Mr. Maher is that he’s not on board with the party’s increasingly socialist, anti-Israel bent.
“If this is where the Democratic Party is going — this obsession with Israel, with the Jew-hating, they don’t believe in capitalism, no prisons — if this is where they’re going, my vote is in play,” Mr. Maher told the veep.
Not all Democrats are steering clear of Mr. Maher. Another guest on Friday’s show was Sen. Raphael Warnock, Georgia Democrat.
The vice president’s spiritual memoir “Communion,” the story of his journey from Christianity to atheism to his conversion to Catholicism, soared to the top of the Amazon bestseller list after its June 16 release.
