Since the October 7 terror attacks in Israel, there have been waves of protests and encampments on college campuses around the country. And what started as ‘pro-Palestinian’ demonstrations quickly morphed into support for terrorist groups like Hamas.
On Tuesday’s show, Megyn was joined by Bill Maher, author of What This Comedian Said Will Shock You, to discuss what is driving these woke progressives and the need for the left to support actual liberal ideals.
The Evolution of the Left
Colleges and universities have a long history with protest, but Megyn and Maher agreed that there is something different happening today. “How did we get here,” she asked. “We’ve got people in the scarves with Hezbollah and Hamas flags chanting at Jews that they can’t go to class.”
Maher said this issue in particular plays into his latest book. While he has always poked fun at the right, his new book takes aim at the left. “For people who say to me, ‘You make fun of the left more than you used to.’ Yes, I do,” he said. “First of all, I’m a comedian and you are a lot funnier than you used to be – not intentionally, but you are.”
In his view, it’s “not just pregnant men,” “identity politics,” “over sensitivity,” and “victim culture or cancel culture” that is worth mocking. “There is lots of funny stuff, but if I ever needed a reason or a rationale for making the case that the left has changed, it would be this,” he said. “[It would be] the fact that they are now marching for the terrorists.”
The protesters, as he explained, have lost the plot. “The people who see themselves as the most liberal people in the world – the social justice warriors – are standing with some of the most illiberal people in the world,” Maher said.
‘Those Are Your Heroes?’
Maher believes a lot of these students are looking for a higher purpose in the wrong place. “My next editorial I’m going to do when I get back to work at my day job is about, look, kids, I know you’re looking for a cause and that is admirable,” he said. “I’ve got one for you: Women around the world, especially in Muslim-majority countries.”
He then offered a brief introduction into how women are treated in parts of the Middle East. “You are marching for Hamas,” Maher asked. “You know that there are no equal rights for women as regards almost everything you could imagine – speech, voting, free movement, divorce, property rights, freedom from sexual harassment, freedom from sexual violence.”
As he explained, the rights (or lack thereof) afforded to women who are living in these terrorist-run states is antithetical to everything the American left claims to champion. “Every possible thing that is a left-wing cause, they violate,” Maher said. “But those are the people we want in charge? Those are the people we want to control ‘from the river to the sea’ even though the people under the rule of Hamas hate them? It’s a fascist dictatorship.”
In fact, Maher said life under Hamas rule is “worse” than a fascist dictatorship. “It’s a fascist dictatorship with a hard-right religious bent,” he concluded. “It’s like the worst of all worlds and those are your heroes?”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Maher by tuning in to episode 797 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.