Bill Maher kicked off his Friday night show with sharp humor, taking aim at President-elect Donald Trump’s controversial Cabinet picks. The comedian didn’t hold back, using his trademark wit to skewer several of Trump’s choices, including Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Maher began by addressing the post-election atmosphere, particularly the backlash from progressive women organizing a sex strike in protest of Trump’s victory. “Well, all I can say is finally progressives found a way to turn something blue,” Maher joked, referencing their vow to deny men intimacy as a form of defiance, as reported by Raw Story.
The centerpiece of Maher’s monologue, however, was Trump’s Cabinet selections. First up was Matt Gaetz, nominated for Attorney General despite ongoing investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct. “A president usually wants an Attorney General who is familiar with Justice Department investigations but not the target of them,” Maher quipped.
He then joked that Trump’s choice might have come down to availability, saying, “Diddy was not available.” Gaetz’s controversial ideas, such as dismantling federal agencies like the FBI and ATF, also didn’t escape Maher’s scrutiny. According to The Wrap, Maher ridiculed these plans, highlighting the absurdity of such proposals from a nominee for the nation’s top law enforcement role.
Maher then turned to Pete Hegseth, tapped by Trump to lead the Defense Department. Mocking Hegseth’s qualifications, Maher suggested they amounted to Trump realizing “Jack Reacher was not a real guy.” He continued his critique by targeting other appointments, such as Steven Cheung for communications director and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services.
“This is what happens when you lose elections and there are no more normal Republicans,” Maher remarked. The comedian saved some of his sharpest jabs for Trump’s broader plans to “streamline” government, joking that eliminating the Department of Education could lead to children being taught “by drag queens in New York or nuns in Arkansas.”
“This is the Trump party,” Maher declared, emphasizing how the GOP has changed under Trump’s leadership. “Don’t expect the normal Republicans to save you.” With his monologue, Maher highlighted the chaos and unpredictability surrounding Trump’s Cabinet selections, signaling a shift in the nation’s political landscape under the president-elect.