Maher, Gaetz tangle over election integrity: 'Don't give me bulls‑‑‑!'

Comedian Bill Maher and former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) got into a heated exchange over President Trump's efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election.

"If you’re talking about the use of force to achieve your political goals, I think it’s somewhat on topic," Gaetz said while appearing on Maher's "Club Random" podcast and video show.

"And it’s not like the left doesn’t do a version. I mean, they should not have been b‑‑‑‑ing about, 'Trump is not a legitimate president.' That was wrong," Maher agreed. "It’s very different than actually trying to stay in power. We just had Jan. 6. It went off smoothly without a hitch. 'Places, everyone, places! OK, the rehearsal went great,' and now we do it and we go home."

The exchange was highlighted by Mediaite.

Maher suggested that this year's Jan. 6 would not have gone as smoothly if Trump had lost the 2024 election.

"You’re right. This past week, we had a wonderful Jan. 6. The last time we had a Republican president elected and Democrats did not object to the electors, do you know the last time that was?" Gaetz began to say.

"This is the kind of bulls‑‑‑," Maher responded.

"Well, look, it was 1988. It was 1988. The last time they didn’t object to a vote. They objected to George W. Bush winning Ohio," Gaetz continued.

"Objecting is different than calling the Justice Department and pressuring them to do things that even his own Justice Department wouldn’t do. It’s different than calling the guy in Georgia and saying, 'Find me 11,000 votes.' It’s different than going to court with all these ridiculous cases that were left out of every courtroom. It’s different than actually sending fake electors," Maher shot back. "Don’t give me bulls‑‑‑ and we’ll be friends. Bulls‑‑‑ me? No, we’ll still be friends, but then I’ll think you’re a hack instead of someone who could actually have an honest conversation and admit this asymmetry exists."

The former GOP lawmaker said he does not believe "it’s asymmetrical at all."

"When you look at the way the Democratic Party used an authoritarian ... bum rush to get Joe Biden out of the race and replace him with with [Kamala] Harris, what was it?" he added.

Before moving on to a new topic, Maher told Gaetz, "You’re a lot brighter than I thought you were."