Bill Maher on Why ‘October Surprise’ Won’t Knock Trump Out of Election

With the 2024 presidential election just weeks away, Bill Maher urged people to stop hoping for an “October surprise” that will “save us from a second Trump term.”

During his “New Rules” segment on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher Friday, the host argued that the former president could commit the worst crimes “and it wouldn’t move the needle at all” or “knock Donald Trump out of the race.”

“He’s banged a porn star and attempted a coup, he steals from charities. If you’re waiting for an October surprise to knock him out, dream on. There are better odds of another Joker musical,” Maher said, referencing the Joker: Folie à Deux box office flop earlier this month.

The comedian continued, “Trump said last week that really doing the Purge, like in the movie, might be a good crime-fighting technique. He’s the only candidate where the voters hope he doesn’t keep his campaign promises.”

Maher emphasized that Democrats have “gotten so used to thinking there’s always an October surprise coming, that when it doesn’t happen, it actually seems weird… like a party at Diddy’s house where you just dance.” But he added that “you can’t surprise the voter who has seen it all.”

“The Access Hollywood tape in 2016 was a classic October surprise, and many people thought it was one that would work, as grabbing pussy is generally frowned upon,” the host said as an example of a failed “October surprise” since he won the election that year. He continued, “Including by James Comey, who was so disgusted by it, he reopened an investigation into Hillary [Clinton] a few weeks later.”

Maher went on to explain why it seems like no matter what scandal Trump gets himself in, his place in the election won’t be impacted in the eyes of his supporters. “Trump’s superpower as a candidate is that he’s been so constantly and ubiquitously awful for so long, that it’s simply no longer seen, the way that you wouldn’t notice a new face tattoo on Post Malone,” he said.

However, the host pointed out that Kamala Harris is “very vulnerable” to an “October surprise” because “she’s the only one who’s still undefined.”

The guests featured on the latest episode of Real Time were David Hogg, Mark Cuban and Joe Scarborough.