Late-night comedian Bill Maher says he’s “cautiously optimistic” about President Trump’s ongoing military action against Iran “unless he takes action himself.”
“I just don’t understand the liberal understanding of liberation,” he said on “Bill Maher Live” Friday, adding that he saw the Iranian people as “very happy.”
“How about this? This is a fascist theocracy and nothing is going to be okay in the Middle East while they’re still there screwing everything up,” he said.
The comedian also used his monologue to mock former Vice President Harris for her opposition to regime change in Iran.
“Donald Trump is dragging America into a war the American people don’t want,” Harris posted on the social platform X last week.
Maher quipped: “Who knows better what the American people don’t want?”
U.S. and Israeli forces launched a joint strike against Iran, bombing Tehran and killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Trump said on Saturday that the country was “going to be hit hard” as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian continued to resist U.S. demands for “unconditional” surrender.
As tensions continue to escalate in the Middle East, the Trump administration has not ruled out launching ground operations in Iran.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed at a news conference on Monday that the United States currently has no troops in the country, but said, “We are not conducting exercises on what we will or will not do.”
The secretary added: “I think it’s a long-standing fallacy that the department or the president or anyone else should be telling the enemies of the United States that this is how long we’re going to go, this is how far we’re going to go, this is what we’re willing to do and what we’re not willing to do — that’s stupid.”
Maher acknowledged on the show that some viewers might expect him to oppose the strike, as many Americans do.
“Now, do you think I’m going to say I hate it? I don’t! Sorry!” he reiterated, “When he puts his boots on the ground, yes, I’m going to hate it.”
On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that sending U.S. troops “will be a big disaster for them.”
“We’re prepared for any situation, any contingency, any possibility, and we know we can handle it,” Aragochi told NBC’s Tom Llamas.
In addition, Araghchi dismissed concerns that the Iranian regime would target the U.S. mainland, saying their focus was on targeting U.S. bases in the Middle East.
Trump did nothing to assuage the concerns, saying “I guess” in response to a question from Time reporter Eric Cortleza about whether Americans should worry about a retaliatory strike against the United States.
“But I think they’ve been worried about that,” he continued. “We’ve been thinking about it. We plan for it. But, yeah, you know, we expect something. Like I said, some people are going to die. When you go to war, some people are going to die.”
The U.S. State Department confirmed that six U.S. service members were killed in an Iranian counter-drone attack in Kuwait over the weekend. Trump will participate in a solemn handover ceremony later Saturday to honor the soldiers.
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