Comedian and talk-show host Bill Maher shared his thoughts on the annual Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC), criticizing a speaker's comment about God's opinion on President Donald Trump and calling it a "virtual Woodstock of the mentally impaired."
During his show on Friday, Maher said the annual convention featured a variety of speakers including, Glenn Beck, Representative Devin Nunes, Judge Jeanine Pirro and even Trump, himself. In criticizing the lineup of speakers, he called the conference a "virtual Woodstock of the mentally impaired."
Maher also told his viewers to stop acting surprised that Trump thinks he's God's gift to America because that's the message some of his supporters are sending. The illustrate his point, he highlighted a segment of a speech of Mike Lindell, the inventor of MyPillow, delivered at CPAC.
In the speech, Lindell said "of course" Trump was the "greatest president in history" because he was "chosen by God." The belief that God wanted Trump to win the election wasn't unique to the MyPillow inventor and was a sentiment press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders expressed as well.
"I think God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times and I think that he wanted Donald Trump to become president, and that's why he's there," Sanders said in January.
Another supporter said Trump's election victory was God "giving us one more chance" and a recent poll found 25 percent of voters thought God wanted Trump to win the election.
Maher also called attention to the comparison that's been made between Trump and King Cyrus. Cyrus ruled over Persia and is credited in the Bible with freeing the Jewish people living in Babylonia from captivity so they could build a temple in Jerusalem.
During a 2018 meeting in the Oval Office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summarized the story of King Cyrus and pointed to several people throughout history who took similar action, including Lord Arthur Balfour and former President Harry Truman.
"And we remember how, a few weeks ago, President Donald J. Trump, recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital," Netanyahu said, according to the Times of Israel. "Mr. President, this will be remembered by our people throughout the ages. Others talked about it, you did it."
Evangelicals have also made the comparison, and Maher claimed they did to solve a problem Trump created.
"They want to support a Republican president, but this particular one happens to be the least Christian one ever," Maher said. "A man who loves flesh peddling, coveting, cursing, cheating, bullying, bragging, sloth, adultery and ripping off charities."
Maher further described Trump as a man who "lies more than most of us pee" and could "go into a confessional booth and never come out."
While Cyrus was a vessel for God's will, Maher criticized the comparison with Trump, who he said is the "antithesis of what Christians are supposed to believe in." Maher added that for the analogy to be accurate, Trump would have to be a foreign leader, as Cyrus was, helping America, which is the Jewish people in the comparison.
Ultimately, Maher reasoned that the comparison between Trump and Cyrus was proof that, "The Bible will always be used as a justifier for whatever you want."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jenni Fink is a senior editor at Newsweek, based in New York. She leads the National News team, reporting on ... Read more
