**Bill Maher Slams Liberals for Defending Democrats After Los Angeles Wildfires**
instead of holding them accountable following the devastating wildfires that tore through Los Angeles last week.
In a conversation with TMZ, Maher argued that liberals should stop deflecting blame solely onto climate change and start addressing government failures. He pointed out the hypocrisy of avoiding political criticism during crises. “I’m with the people who want to hold politicians accountable. It’s so funny hearing liberals say, ‘We shouldn’t talk about it now,’” Maher noted. “They hate it when conservatives use that line after a gun tragedy, saying, ‘This isn’t the time to politicize it.’ And then it never is.”
Maher insisted the time to discuss accountability is now. “Of course, wildfires were bound to be catastrophic—climate change makes things worse. Winds were insane. I get all that,” he said. “But serious mistakes were also made.”
He compared the situation to how Democrats blamed President George W. Bush for the failures surrounding Hurricane Katrina, emphasizing that the same standard should apply to Democratic leaders. “If you held Bush accountable for Katrina and mocked Rudy Giuliani for putting the command center in the World Trade Center, you have to be honest when your own side screws up. We should demand better.”
Maher’s comments came as Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass faced criticism for being in Ghana during the crisis. Despite having over 24 hours’ notice about what experts predicted would be the worst windstorm since 2011, Bass attended a cocktail event at the U.S. Embassy in Accra. According to the *Los Angeles Times*, she returned to Los Angeles on January 8, four days after the fires began.
“Bass was part of a Biden administration delegation for Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama’s inauguration,” the *Times* reported. “She traveled abroad on January 4, even as the National Weather Service escalated windstorm warnings, returning at around 11 a.m. on January 8.”
However, not all comedians agree with Maher. Bill Burr mocked those claiming to know how to manage the disaster better. “Mismanaged? Like some guy on the internet sitting in his underwear knows how to handle L.A.’s worst fire,” Burr joked.
Similarly, Jon Stewart warned against immediate political blame, highlighting differing perspectives on leadership accountability during crises.