Bill Maher confronted Lara Trump on his Club Random podcast Monday after she attempted to cast doubt on whether former President Donald Trump had called a female reporter “piggy,” despite video evidence circulating widely online.
Maher argued that Trump’s rhetoric continues to alienate voters he might otherwise persuade. “Don’t do things like call a woman ‘piggy,’” he told Lara Trump, who now serves as co-chair of the Republican National Committee.
“Do we know that happened?” she replied.
“I saw it on tape!” Maher shot back.
Lara Trump laughed off the remark, suggesting Trump may have said “McGee” instead, and pivoted to arguing that the former president is an “equal opportunity offender.” She cited his criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as proof that Trump is tough on everyone.
Maher pushed back. “What’s that to do with piggy?” he asked. Instead of addressing the insult directly, Lara Trump shifted to accusing President Joe Biden of using offensive language, a frequent talking point among Trump allies.
Maher said her evasiveness illustrated the challenge of critiquing political rhetoric on both sides. He noted that he had planned an editorial criticizing liberals but found it harder to defend balanced commentary when Trump delivered an unnecessary insult in the same news cycle.
“It just makes my job more difficult when, during this week, he says to a woman, ‘piggy,’” Maher said. “Even you must admit, this is just not cool, not necessary.”
Maher urged her to consider whether Trump’s inner circle ever pushes back on his language. “Does he have to do that? Can’t you get in there and say so?” he asked.
“Donald Trump is not perfect,” Lara Trump responded, “but he does a lot of things that I think are great.”
