Bill Maher suggested that a prison sentence for recently convicted felon Donald Trump could spark unrest on the latest episode of Real Time.
A New York jury on Thursday found the former president guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and he will be sentenced on July 11.
Trump supporters have called for assassination in the wake of his criminal conviction, with some saying it was “time to start shooting some lefties” and suggesting “someone should take over” the judge who presided over the case.
Maher suggested on Friday’s episode of ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’ that if the former president is sentenced to prison a ‘race war’ could break out.
“I mean, MAGA nation is going to go crazy, I don’t know if that’s a reason to do something or not, but they will,” Maher said.
Bill Maher suggested on Friday’s episode of ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’ that if the former president is sentenced to prison a ‘race war’ could break out.
‘I’ve heard some people say that if his name wasn’t Donald Trump, he would definitely go to prison. But sending a former American president to prison, I don’t know if that’s a thing, I’m asking.’
Furious Trump supporters shared images of upside-down American flags, a symbol used by insurrectionists at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, leading many to wonder if a similar event will occur when he is sentenced.
“I am sorry to say that a civil war in this country becomes a racial war. “That’s the sad truth about this country,” Maher said.
‘If he gets imprisoned, I mean, the first thing his followers will say is, “Oh, that’s what it is.” A black district attorney. You know, all these people who are the district attorneys, they’re black. The judge was not white. “This is what it is,” Maher said.
Maher’s guest, former Colorado Republican Congressman Ken Buck, said it’s unlikely Trump will be imprisoned based on precedent.
Trump supporters have called for murder following his criminal conviction
Following his conviction, furious Trump supporters shared images of upside-down American flags, a symbol used by insurrectionists at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Former Obama adviser David Axelrod said, “Listen, a lot of people in my tribe don’t like it when I say this, but yeah, I think there’s something about jailing a former president, especially for something like this.”
‘This, to me, is worrying for our country. And I would be very surprised if this judge sentenced him to prison for this.’
The verdict came after a five-week trial presided over by Judge Juan Merchan, where prosecutors led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg presented dramatic evidence and questioned 22 witnesses on the stand.
Prosecutors spoke of a plot by Trump to “corrupt” the 2016 election by concealing a $130,000 hush payment made by his “fixer” Michael Cohen to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Daniels alleged that she and Trump had sex a decade earlier, which he has denied.
Trump’s lawyers have vowed to appeal the conviction, and the former president himself outlined two areas his team will raise in the appeal during a speech on Friday.
The case featured explosive evidence from Daniels and exposed the “catch-and-kill” practices of the National Enquirer tabloid, which bought stories that could be damaging to Trump and suppressed them.
But the actual criminal charges concern something more prosaic: the refunds Trump signed for Cohen for the payment.
The refunds, paid by Trump in monthly installments, were recorded as legal expenses.
Prosecutors say it was a fraudulent label designed to conceal the purpose of the hush money transaction and unlawfully interfere in the 2016 election.
Trump’s lawyers have vowed to appeal the conviction, and the former president himself outlined two areas his team will raise in the appeal: the location of the trial and the judge.