Comedian Bill Maher predicted Republicans will suffer a major defeat in the midterm elections, arguing President Donald Trump has alienated voters by going too far during his second term.
“Trump screwed the pooch,” Maher said in an interview Sunday with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria. “He got drunk with power.”
Maher said Trump’s political standing has deteriorated because voters who supported him expected him to focus on issues such as the economy, inflation, gas prices, immigration, the war with Iran, and the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
“He didn’t keep his word on the things that were important to us,” Maher said. “Right now we have one message: Donald Trump went too far, and his party will pay.”
Maher said he expects the backlash against Trump to be significant, dismissing the possibility that polling could be substantially underestimating Republican support.
“They’re going to get their ass kicked,” Maher said. “It’s going to be brutal.”
Maher acknowledged that Trump retains strong support among Republicans but argued that his standing with independents has deteriorated. He also said some Republican politicians who once closely aligned themselves with Trump are beginning to distance themselves from him and his policies. Trump’s most recent approval rating was just over 38%, according to RealClear Polling.
“It’s so easy just to come in and undo the bad, but nobody does that,” Maher said, arguing that Trump could have maintained broader support by focusing on reversing Biden administration policies rather than pursuing more aggressive changes.
Maher also warned Democrats against interpreting Republican losses as a mandate for the party’s more progressive wing.
“They will misinterpret the thumping that the Republicans get as an endorsement for the insanity that a good part of the party wants to march toward,” Maher said, pointing to Democratic Socialists of America and progressive positions on issues including policing and Israel’s war in Gaza.
“2028 is a different story,” Maher said. “But this electorate right now is saying we will get to that issue. Right now, we have one piece of business in front of us.”
Maher’s comments come as several election indicators point to a difficult environment for Republicans heading into the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
2026 MIDTERM ELECTIONS LIVE UPDATES: LATEST NEWS, RESULTS, AND ANALYSIS
The Cook Political Report said recently that 15 House race ratings had shifted toward Democrats and that Republicans were on track to lose their House majority. Democrats currently hold 215 seats and need to gain three to reach a majority.
The election is looking just as bleak for the GOP in the upper chamber. A recent New York Times/Siena College poll of voters in Texas, Alaska, Ohio, Iowa, and Kansas similarly found Democratic Senate candidates competitive with or ahead of Republicans in each state, despite Trump carrying those states by a wide margin in 2024.