Real Time host Bill Maher expresses hesitation about sending former President Trump to jail, citing potential social unrest and slippery political precedents.
"Real Time" host Bill Maher grappled with the potential consequences of a prison sentence for former President Trump following his guilty verdict in the New York trial.
During a panel discussion on Friday, Maher pondered whether the judge would dare send Trump to jail, and whether such a move would be justified. He acknowledged that some people believe Trump would definitely receive jail time if his name was different.
"Sending a former American president to jail, I don't know if that's something- I'm asking," Maher said.
Former Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., predicted Trump would avoid jail based on Manhattan's sentencing history for similar crimes. Former Obama adviser David Axelrod expressed reluctance about sending the presumptive Republican nominee to prison.
"Listen, a lot of people in my tribe don't like it when I say this, but yeah, I think there is something about jailing a former president, especially on something like this," Axelrod said. "That is, to me, worrisome for our country."
Maher interjected, "I mean, MAGA nation will go nuts."
"I don't know if that's a reason to or not to do something, but they will," he added.
Maher expressed further concerns that sending Trump to jail could escalate into a civil war, particularly a race war, due to the involvement of a Black district attorney and a Hispanic judge.
"A civil war in this country, I'm sorry to say, becomes a race war," Maher said. "That's the sad truth about this country. And if they put him in jail, I mean, the first thing his supporters are gonna say is, 'Oh, that's what it is.' A Black district attorney. You know, all these people who are the district attorneys, they're black. The judge was not White. This is what it is."
Trump's legal team has vowed to challenge the guilty verdict. His defenders have accused Democrats of using lawfare to try to defeat him in the upcoming November presidential election.
The potential consequences of a prison sentence for Trump remain uncertain, raising questions about the limits of prosecutorial power and the potential for further political division.
