Megyn Kelly Savagely Fact-Checks Bill Maher Twice, Sets Him Straight

Bill Maher, the host of HBO’s "Real Time With Bill Maher," has been actively promoting his new book and, to his credit, has been appearing on shows that many liberals typically avoid.

This outreach has led the liberal talk show host to potentially realize that his worldview might not be as accurate as he once believed.

On Monday, Maher appeared on "Gutfeld," where he debated Fox News host Greg Gutfeld, claiming that former President Donald Trump would not accept the results of the 2024 election if he lost, as reported by Fox News.

The next day, Maher was on "The Megyn Kelly Show," where he attempted to share left-wing viewpoints, but Kelly was not about to let him off easily.

Their discussion focused on whether former presidential candidates have accepted or denied election results.

Maher started by saying Trump did not accept the 2020 election results. Kelly responded by pointing out that Democrat Hillary Clinton also refused to accept her 2016 defeat.

"Hillary Clinton, of course, is the original election denier. I’m sure you voted for her in ’16," Kelly remarked.

"Well, she’s not an election denier," Maher replied.

"She absolutely was the OG election denier," Kelly insisted.

"She — first of all, she came out before the sun had risen to concede the election to Trump," he said.

"And then spent the next four years saying he was illegitimate, he was an illegitimate president," Kelly interjected, standing her ground.

"OK, well, first of all, saying — she didn’t say he was illegitimate," Maher responded, asking, "You tell me exactly what she said."

"She said those exact words repeatedly," Kelly shot back.

Maher reiterated that Clinton conceded the election while Trump did not.

In another heated exchange, Kelly challenged Maher's characterization of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

When Maher suggested that Trump would "show up at the White House whether he’s invited or not" if he lost the election, Kelly countered, "Oh stop it, he’s not going to do that."

"Like there was never an attack on the Capitol," Maher retorted. "That never happened. Like they didn’t show up at the Capitol and break windows and knock down doors and kill cops —"

"They didn’t do that," Kelly interrupted.

"They didn’t break windows, knock down doors?" he asked.

"They didn’t kill cops," she replied.

"They of course did," Maher insisted, raising his voice.

"No, they didn’t," Kelly said calmly.

"Who did?" he asked. "They died of natural causes that day?"

"Yeah, nobody died that day," Kelly responded.

"Cops," Maher said.

"No," Kelly replied. "Not true."

"OK," Maher said, laughing incredulously.

"Who?" she asked.

"I don’t remember the names," he admitted.

"They didn’t," Kelly said confidently. "There was Brian Sicknick who died later after the fact."

During his appearance on "Gutfeld" on Monday, Maher mocked the host for not knowing that Trump had once sued him over a comment comparing Trump to an orangutan.

"I didn’t know that," Gutfeld said.

"Really? You’re in news?" Maher asked, implying that Trump’s lawsuit against him 11 years ago was of great significance.

What is truly significant are the falsehoods being accepted as truth about the January 6 incident.

Kelly was correct. Clinton did repeatedly call Trump an illegitimate president, and the only person who was killed on January 6 was an unarmed protester named Ashli Babbitt.

Brian Sicknick, the officer often cited in discussions about January 6, died on January 7, 2021. Initially reported as succumbing to injuries from the riot, an autopsy later confirmed that Sicknick died of two strokes caused by natural factors, as reported by ABC News.

D.C.’s chief medical examiner, Francisco J. Diaz, told The Washington Post that "the autopsy found no evidence of internal or external injuries, or of an allergic reaction to the chemical substance."

The autopsy also noted, "If death is hastened by an injury, the manner of death is not considered natural."

Maher seems to have missed this information.

Moreover, he erroneously believed that multiple police officers were killed on January 6. (Two other officers died by suicide after the event.)

This exchange highlights how deeply partisan messaging has skewed public understanding of the Capitol riot, even among prominent media figures.

By repeating a falsehood frequently, a new narrative has emerged.

Kelly’s dedication to factual accuracy exemplifies how to confront and refute such pervasive falsehoods.

Her calm and firm rebuttals, grounded in verified information, demonstrated the correct approach to countering the disinformation propagated within the Democrats' echo chamber.

As for Maher, his persistent belief in a false narrative, even when confronted with facts, suggests he might need to reconsider his confidence in his understanding of complex political matters.