Conservative commentator Megyn Kelly hosted comedian Bill Maher on an episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show” earlier this year, during which the two sparred after Kelly labeled former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton the “original election denier.” Maher denied such an assertion, maintaining that it was a “false equivalency” to Donald Trump.
Kelly broached the topic, stating, “Hillary Clinton, of course, is the original election denier. I’m sure you voted for her in ’16. Maher interjected, disagreeing with Kelly’s take. “Well, she’s not an election denier,” he said. The host immediately fired back, “She absolutely was the OG election denier.” Maher then suggested that Clinton’s concession of the election nullified the claim. “First of all, she came out before the sun had risen to concede the election to Trump,” he said.
Offering a rebuttal, Kelly noted, “And then spent the next four years saying he was illegitimate. He was an illegitimate president.” Not believing Kelly, Maher replied, “Okay, well, first of all, saying she didn’t say he was an illegitimate … you tell me exactly what she said.” Kelly maintained, “She said those exact words repeatedly.” A clip was then played showing Clinton state verbatim, “I believe he knows he’s an illegitimate president.”
Sticking to his argument, “I mean, she conceded the election, whether, whether you’re interpreting her disappointment at at losing it as the same thing as Trump not conceding it. I don’t know that that’s where you’re getting it from, but again, it’s a tremendous false equivalency. You could ask Hillary Clinton right now, who won that election? She will tell you Donald Trump won.”
Kelly went on to say, “She knows she has to because of what Trump has done.” Maher then exclaimed, “She came out that night in her dark purple suit and conceded the election. Doubling down, Kelly said, “And then spent the next four years trying to convince us it was not legitimate.” From there, another clip of Clinton played, showing her state the election was stolen from her. “You can run the best campaign, you can even become the nominee, and you can have the election stolen from you,” Clinton said.
Conservative users on social media reacted to the conversation, offering a wide range of opinions. “The concession has never been anything more than a performative act. Now people like Bill act as though it is the defining act of a president. It’s ridiculous,” one person wrote, suggesting that Clinton’s act of concession was meaningless, in line with Kelly’s argument.
Another person suggested, that as far as the left goes, Bill Maher is far better than his contemporaries, considering that he has been willing to criticize the Democratic Party and woke culture. Although, they maintained that he was wrong in this instance. “Bill Maher is still better than Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Stephen Colbert, combined all of whom say what they are told and are told what to say. Funded by Pfizer. Nonetheless, Bill is wrong here,” the comment read.
Watch Kelly below:
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