Bill Maher floated that jail time for recently convicted felon Donald Trump could lead to unrest in the latest episode of Real Time.
A New York jury found the former president guilty of all 34 counts of falsifying hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels on Thursday and he will be sentenced on July 11.
Trump supporters have called for murder in the wake of his criminal conviction, with some saying was ‘time to start capping [shooting] some Lefties’ and suggested that ‘somebody should take care of’ the judge who presided over the case.
Maher suggested on Friday’s episode of ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’ that if the ex-president gets sentenced to jail time a ‘race war’ could breakout.
‘I mean, MAGA nation will go nuts, I don’t know if that’s a reason to or not to do something, but they will,’ Maher said.
‘I’ve heard some people say if his name wasn’t Donald Trump, he would definitely get jail time. But sending a former American president to jail, I don’t know if that’s something – I’m asking.’
Furious Trump supporters shared pictures of upside down American flags – a symbol used by insurrectionists at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 – prompting many to wondering if a similar event will occur when he is sentenced.
‘A civil war in this country, I’m sorry to say, becomes a race war. That’s the sad truth about this country,’ Maher said.
‘If they put him in jail, I mean, the first thing his supporters are gonna 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 is unlikely Trump will get jail time based on precedent.
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 is something about jailing a former president, especially on something like this.’
‘That is, to me, worrisome for our country. And I would really be shocked if this judge gave him a prison sentence for this.’
The verdict came after a five-week long trial presided over by Judge Juan Merchan where prosecutors lead by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg presented dramatic evidence and quizzed 22 witnesses on the stand.
Prosecutors told of a plot by Trump to ‘ corrupt’ the 2016 election by hiding a $130,000 hush money payment 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.
The case featured explosive evidence by Daniels and lifted the lid on 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 reimbursements Trump signed for Cohen for the payment.
The reimbursements, paid by Trump in monthly installments, were recorded as being for legal expenses.
Prosecutors say that was a fraudulent label designed to conceal the purpose of the hush money transaction and to illicitly interfere in the 2016 election.
Trump’s lawyers have vowed to appeal the conviction and the ex-president himself outlined two areas that his team will raise on appeal – the location of the trial and the judge.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
