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Bill Maher expressed admiration for Maryland Governor Wes Moore, calling him an impressive potential candidate for the 2028 Presidential Election.
Maher criticized both major political parties for extreme polarization and argued that most Americans desire a centrist leader who can bridge the divide.
He also commented on the Democratic Party’s focus on identity politics.
Bill Maher recently revealed his top pick for the 2029 Presidential Election.
During an interview with The Free Press published on YouTube on December 22, the Real Time With Bill Maher host, 69, discussed who he thinks would be best-suited for the job.
“Everybody goes to their furthest side of the pendulum, you know?” Maher said of the extreme divide between Democrats and Republicans. “The liberals come in, and the whole thing is way too p***y-fied. And then you go right, too macho, and, ‘Let’s blow up boats. Let’s arrest people at Home Depot,’ and all this macho bulls***.”
He added, “And the average person, I think, is just saying, ‘I don’t want either… Can’t we just get some normal place in the middle?’ Both parties keep disappointing those people.”
To that, interviewer Maya Sulkin asked, “Do you see people that you have hope for that could do that and garner momentum in a real way?”
Maher replied, “I went to a luncheon last week with Wes Moore. I never met him; he’s very impressive. I came away very, very impressed with that.”
He clarified, “I’m not picking a candidate yet. But I didn’t know that much about him. His name was on a lot of people’s lips, as far as who’s gonna run. Now, he said he has zero interest in running next time — well, of course, they all say that, and that could or could not be true. But he has immense political talent.”
Additionally, Maher claimed that the Democratic Party, in recent election cycles, has been “way too beholden to identity politics.” He explained, “Biden gets the nod, so he has to pick a Black woman. And then she becomes the nominee, so she has to pick a lame white guy. So they’re always going through this cycle of having to balance their last bulls*** box checking out.”
Maher continued, “But Wes, he wears the magic armor, which is great. Just like Obama. You’re dealing with a party that has a lot of white people who feel very guilty about things we actually didn’t do ourselves. But that’s their thing, and it’s not like, obviously, we shouldn’t own the past and feel bad about it, and in many ways, do what we can to repair it where it needs to be repaired. But there is a weird sort of white self-loathing in the Democratic Party.”
As far as Moore is concerned, “He could be a centrist in a way Obama could that a white guy can’t,” the late-night host pointed out. “He’s like already sort of, like, passed a certain test with the super-woke white people, who are way more liberal, by the way, than most Black folks in this country. They have polling on this.”
Moore, 47, is currently the governor of Maryland.
Real Time with Bill Maher, Season 24, Premieres, Friday, January 23, 2026, HBO