In a speech in Memphis, Tennessee on Saturday, Donald Trump hit out at Fox News for booking the liberal comedian Bill Maher as a guest, calling the network “stupid”.
Maher may have upset Mr Trump and been on his mind by saying on air that Florida governor Ron DeSantis would make a better Republican president than he would because “he’s not certifiably insane, that’s a great one to start off with”.
The comedian added: “You know what Ron DeSantis won’t be doing? He won’t be poop-tweeting every day. It won’t be, like, having feuds with Bette Midler on Twitter. He’s not an insane person.”
Mr DeSantis is seen as the most likely Republican to beat Trump to the 2024 nomination, although neither has yet confirmed they will run.
Maher also said Mr Trump should be prosecuted for his role in inciting the Capitol riot with his false claims of election fraud – claims the January 6 hearings have heard Mr Trump knew to be unfounded.
“I mean, yes, if the guy robbed the liquor store, let’s look into why he did that. But also, he needs to be arrested for robbing the liquor store,” Maher said.
However, the comedian has also defended an NFL coach disciplined for calling the Capitol riot a “dust-up” and criticised The Washington Post – a regular target of Mr Trump’s wrath – for what he called a “self-inflicted” Twitter drama involving public spats between journalists.
Speaking in Memphis, the former president said of Maher to his supporters: “He’s a radical left maniac with modest television ratings. And as soon as he says something that’s a little bit modest, or temperate, Fox and others put him on to explain – ‘oh look, Bill Maher, a lefty, Bill Maher is saying wonderful things’.
“They play right into the hand of the enemy, it’s amazing. I’m sure he laughs like hell at how stupid they are.
“They’re kissing the ass of the enemy. And in that case, his ass is not particularly pretty.”
Mr Trump was a Fox News favourite for most of his term but dramatically fell out with the network when it became the first to call Arizona for Joe Biden during coverage of the 2020 election.
