Overview

• On his August 16 episode of Real Time, Maher claimed that Bill and Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris and Barack Obama have repeatedly declined invitations to join his show.
• He played a montage of conservative figures—including Kevin McCarthy, Bill Barr, Ron DeSantis and Steve Bannon—to underscore Republicans’ willingness to endure his critiques.
• Maher praised California Gov. Gavin Newsom as the sole leading Democrat who regularly accepts his invitation.
• He reiterated that he would welcome Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani but quipped he “can’t subpoena the guests.”
• His remarks have reignited discussions about media access and intra-party caution within the Democratic Party.