Bill Maher had a blunt take on Los Angeles’ political future after voters handed the mayor’s workplace to a Democratic Socialist.
The talk-show host took intention at the metropolis’s two decisions in Tuesday’s election, which saw City Councilwoman Nithya Raman defeat incumbent Karen Bass.
“Yes, we have a new mayor in L.A.,” Maher informed his two friends on Friday night time’s present, before delivering a punchline that drew laughs from the viewers.
“You get two choices in L.A.: Left or further left,” he said.
Bill Maher speaks about Los Angeles mayoral voters’ choices alongside panelist Coleman Hughes. Instagram/@Realtimers
Maher echoed the sentiment of many Angelenos who felt their remaining two choices came down to who was the least worst possibility. Both basic election candidates had been dogged by questionable monitor information.
One of Maher’s friends, Coleman Hughes, ripped further into the mayor-elect’s ideology. Both candidates are Democrats, but Raman is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
“Look, my issues are high rents and crime. Socialists don’t tend to be good on those issues because they institute policies like rent control, which sounds good but end up increasing the rents in the long run,” Hughes said.
Hughes, an American author and podcaster who is a former fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, also pushed back against youthful Americans who view socialism as a contemporary resolution to the nation’s issues.
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Coleman Hughes seems as a panelist during a dialogue on Real Time with Bill Maher. Instagram/@Realtimers
“We got 100 years of data on socialism. It’s not good for the economy,” he bluntly acknowledged.
He dismissed the concept that socialism was some new political experiment, including: “Hate to break it to you, Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital in like, 1860.”
Raman’s victory has already prompted considerations among critics about how her administration could reshape public security and policing in Los Angeles.
The mayor-elect faces strain from Democratic Socialists of America supporters to make sweeping modifications to the Los Angeles Police Department, including doubtlessly scaling back its insurance policies. Some officers have warned that such strikes could worsen public security as the division struggles with staffing shortages.
“It’s going to be a nightmare and very, very bad for public safety,” one senior officer said of Raman’s win.
Los Angeles Mayor-elect Nithya Raman delivers remarks in Los Angeles, California, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, after defeating incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. REUTERS
Bass warned voters of that Raman would plunge the metropolis into chaos. “I think four years under Nithya Raman would present a tremendous amount of chaos,” Bass had informed The Post. “It would be chaos from day one.”
The mayor zeroed in on Raman’s pledge to exchange LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, warning that eradicating the metropolis’s high cop could set off an exodus from an already understaffed division.
“I don’t think she has a clue what it takes to get a police chief for the nation’s second-largest city,” Bass said.
“The minute she would initiate that, you will have officers leaving the department, and confusion sets in anytime they’re gonna sit around and wait to see who is going to lead them.”
Bass also warned that a management shake-up at the LAPD could invite undesirable intervention from Washington, notably with Los Angeles making ready to host the 2028 Olympics.
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