“Two and a Half Men” star Jon Cryer surprised Bill Maher with the insane reason he believes Vice President Kamala Harris lost to President-elect Donald Trump.
According to the actor, the results of the election boiled down to Republicans supposedly “hating Black women and trans people.”
Cryer’s appearance on Maher’s “Club Random” podcast kicked off with Maher pointing out his own predictions about Trump’s political success.
“I warned everybody about Trump, and then I warned them about what would get him reelected, which was stupid wokeness,” Maher stated.
Actor Jon Cryer on Why Trump Won
“I think Americans h*te inflation. They h*te inflation, they h*te riots, they h*te black women, and they h*te trans people. They just spent hundreds of millions of dollars demonizing trans people.” pic.twitter.com/X1uJMNYks6
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) January 5, 2025
He blamed “wokeness” for the Democrats’ loss in the election. Cryer interrupted to suggest that “wokeness” was only “maybe part of it” and that other factors were in play.
Maher remarked, “I think the whole country — unless you’re like, stupid woke — I hope you’re not,” prompting Cryer to respond, “I’m somewhat stupidly woke.”
The exchange took a lively turn as Maher argued that Democrats had mishandled immigration during their time in power.
He accused them of doing nothing as millions crossed the border. Cryer pushed back, saying, “I think they would probably disagree. The people walking in probably felt like it was a little harder.”
Maher remained adamant, referencing reporting from “60 Minutes” to back up his argument. “You don’t get eight million people here by making it difficult,” he explained.
The conversation covered footage from the border that Maher claimed showed migrants walking into the U.S. unchecked.
“See, that doesn’t get in the liberal media,” Maher said, arguing that political bubbles exacerbate the issue and contributed to poor electoral outcomes for Democrats this cycle.
Cryer’s counter was that inflation played a bigger role in shaping voters’ decisions. “Americans hate inflation,” he noted.
Maher conceded, “Inflation certainly was part of it,” before Cryer escalated his rhetoric.
“They hate inflation. They hate riots, and they hate Black women. And they hate trans people,” Cryer stated bluntly, adding that Republicans spent “hundreds of millions of dollars” targeting these social issues in their campaigns.
Maher appeared stunned, cutting in with, “God, Jon, we’re not going to—” but Cryer persisted, claiming that demonizing trans people was a centerpiece of GOP campaign strategies. “That’s disgusting,” he said.
According to Cryer, the anti-trans rhetoric left trans individuals “terrified.” He said, “The trans people in my life feel, at this point, really frightened.”
He went on to explain, “Not only was this election … the outrage cycle … targeted them, but, it was accepted.”
Maher dismissed the argument, pointing to Democrat failings instead. “Well, another reason why the Democrats shouldn’t have blown it,” Maher argued.
Cryer disagreed and reiterated his belief that COVID-related inflation caused global backlash against the Democrats.
“You can blame them all you want. I believe, again, that there was a worldwide reaction to the inflation bump after COVID,” Cryer remarked.
Maher, unimpressed, hit back with, “You keep telling yourself that and you’ll lose the next one too.”
Shifting gears, Cryer criticized the Democrats’ strategy during Kamala Harris’s campaign, accusing them of moving towards the right.
Maher argued Harris didn’t lack time during her 107-day campaign and mentioned that shorter campaigns could have worked better.
“Time has nothing to do with it. You could do it in two weeks. If anything, she had too much time,” Maher quipped.
He added, “She was doing good for the first two months — the joy sh*t — and then it just … it’s so antiquated, this idea that people need more.”
The heated exchange eventually came to a halt. Maher remarked, “Yeah. We shouldn’t talk politics,” to which Cryer quickly agreed, saying, “Okay, we shouldn’t. I mean, great. I don’t, we don’t have to.”
Toward the end, Maher joked about a concept for a talk show called “Deprogramming Duckie,” referencing Cryer’s character from “Pretty in Pink.”
Watch the full episode of Jon Cryer’s appearance on “Club Random” here: