Bill Maher

Bill Maher Moved From Center to Lean Left in May 2025 Small Group Editorial Review

In a May 2025 Small Group Editorial Review of Bill Maher a group of three AllSides reviewers on the left, center, and right rated Bill Maher as Lean Left.

Overwhelming feedback on AllSides’ X Influencer Bias Chart triggered a further review of Maher, who was originally rated Center. 

The Lean Right reviewer said, “It's clear people see him as Lean Left and he is always going to bat for Democrats. His commentary is typically criticizing Democrats only insofar as he wants them to win and thinks they are doing a bad job and emboldening what he calls ‘the far right.’” The Center reviewer noted that although he criticizes the Democratic Party he’s "extremely partisan.” The Lean Left reviewer added, "Maher often brings up his feeling that the Democratic party's dominant rhetorical choices (and to some extent its platform) have decreased in quality in recent years, but the ideas he expresses still overlap much more with those of a typical Democrat than a typical Republican."

Bill Maher Rated Center in April 2025 Small Group Editorial Review

A group of three AllSides reviewers on the left, center, and right rated Bill Maher as Center in an April 2025 Small Group Editorial Review.

Maher is known for his political commentary on Real Time with Bill Maher, where he regularly features guests from across the political spectrum. He critiques both the left and right, often denouncing “woke” culture while also comparing Trump’s following to a cult.

In early April 2025, Bill Maher had dinner with President Trump and Kid Rock at the White House. The appearance drew pushback from some on the left. In response, Maher addressed the controversy on his show, saying, “I’m not the leader of anything except maybe a contingent of centrist-minded people who think there’s got to be a better way of running this country,” addressing those he felt were overreacting. He said Trump is "much more self-aware than he lets on in public" and "everything I did not like about him was...I swear to God, absent" during the dinner. Maher continued, "Honestly, I voted for Clinton and Obama, and I would never feel comfortable talking to them the way I was able to talk with Donald Trump...That's just how it went down. Make of it what you will. Me, I feel it's emblematic of why the Democrats are so unpopular these days." 

He also spoke of the "danger of the super far right," saying, "I can't say it enough, I think they're the bigger threat [than the woke left]."

He also affirmed he is a free speech absolutist.

Maher has criticized liberals for their stance on immigration. He said he "understand[s] why...voters keep saying over and over again, 'We are not comfortable with this level of immigration.'"He said, "it doesn't make you a racist to say that" while criticizing liberals for "not making a move on immigration," saing it is detrimental to their election prospects. He also stated of Sweden's liberal immigration policy that it has increased crime and emboldened "far right parties" to gain power. Maher said, "It's not a coincidence the quality of life went down after the Somali gangs started a drug turf war using hand grenades. Calling it racist doesn't solve the problem, it hands future elections to someone who will solve the problem, and who, I promise, you are not going to like."

Maher also said Republicans are now the party that is “not pro-democracy and not pro-choice…and America is pro-democracy and it is pro-choice." He criticized bans on abortion after 6 weeks because it is "before women know they're pregnant."