Bill Maher to Karoline Leavitt: ‘I don’t give a s—’, ‘I like the ballroom’
The funniest part of this whole exchange is that Maher might actually be right, and he knows it. A White House ballroom is about as uncontroversial a thing as the federal government could build, yet the reaction to it got treated like a constitutional crisis by Democrats and a win for voters by Republicans. Maher cutting through that with a shrug is a reminder that a lot of the outrage machine runs on manufactured stakes.
I'd want to know what the actual price tag is and whether the East Wing renovation displaces anything else, because those are the details that matter to normal people. But I can't say I find a ballroom objectionable, and I suspect a good portion of the public agrees even if they won't admit it, especially on a live show.
The larger point is that Maher keeps playing the role of the liberal who won't fall in line, and it works because it's genuine. People on both sides trust him to say the uncomfortable thing, even when it means praising something associated with the other party. That sort of credibility is rare, and it's worth paying attention to when it shows up, even in a silly segment about ballroom dancing.