Comedian and TV host Bill Maher butted heads with Star Trek actor and author William Shatner over whether Vice President Harris was a “great” candidate in a new podcast.
Shatner joined Maher on his podcast, “Club Random Podcast,” in an episide released Sunday, in which they discuss the presidential election and Harris’s defeat.
“She was not a great candidate, let’s be honest,” Maher said, as highlighted by Mediaite.
“Why isn’t she a great candidate?” Shatner asked. “She combined several trends of thought here, Black, woman.”
“That’s not a candidate … that’s identity politics,” Maher responded.
Shatner argued that those are elements of a candidate.
Maher admitted that there are some people who are “tribal,” that will vote for someone who looks the most like them. But he said the election results proved that candidates “have to go a lot further” than emphasizing their identity.
“You can’t just be woman, Black person. I mean, Trump got a quarter of Black men,” Maher said.
“Democrats don’t understand their own constituencies,” Maher added, echoing sentiments coming from various corners of the Democratic tent following the bruising election, which gave Republicans control of the White House and both chambers of Congress.
Maher pointed to Hispanic voters, who shifted significantly to Trump over the past four years.
“If you’re a Mexican American, who do you fear taking your job? The guy who just came in through the border. Of course, they like the guy who says, ‘I’m going to keep everybody out,’” Maher said.
Maher said he believes Democrats could have won the election if President Biden had stepped aside earlier and held a “true primary season” instead of anointing Harris at the last minute.
