Bill Maher used his Friday night monologue on HBO’s “Real Time” to needle Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong over her reversal on scrapping Thanksgiving, telling viewers he doesn’t buy her change of heart.
“Democrats have found a candidate who hates Thanksgiving and wants to get rid of it,” Mr. Maher said on the show, adding, “I say, ’Good.’ Finally, a politician willing to stand up to big stuffing.” He went on to question the sincerity of Ms. Hong’s about-face, telling his audience she hates holidays across the board — citing her past remarks on Christmas, the Fourth of July, Halloween and Valentine’s Day — before closing with a jab that the Wisconsin socialist was too outlandish a character to invent.
“I don’t believe you people who renounce things,” Mr. Maher said. “We know what you said. You mean it, live by it.”
The dust-up traces back to a now-deleted 2020 post on X in which Ms. Hong, then reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic, called for Thanksgiving to be canceled over its ties to colonialism. The issue resurfaced this week as she seeks to lock down the Democratic nomination ahead of Wisconsin’s Tuesday primary.
Ms. Hong initially declined to disavow the post during a Monday appearance on CNN, telling the network Thanksgiving remains “a time that’s incredibly painful for many people in our communities” even as she touted her background as a chef who has hosted community Thanksgiving meals. By Wednesday, in an interview with Politico, she had reversed course entirely, declaring, “My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I actually love it.”
Ms. Hong is considered the front-runner in the Democratic primary after former Lieutenant Gov. Mandela Barnes dropped out of the race, citing Ms. Hong’s commanding lead in Marquette Law School polling, though he stopped short of endorsing her. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, backed by Gov. Tony Evers, remains her most substantial rival. A State Navigate poll taken after Mr. Barnes’s exit and released Aug. 7 found Ms. Hong still holding a nearly 2-to-1 lead over Mr. Crowley, 44% to 24%, with state Sen. Kelda Roys at 11% and former Administration Secretary Joel Brennan at 5%. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Ms. Hong would join a small but growing bloc of left-wing candidates who have knocked off establishment-backed Democrats in this year’s primaries, following Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate primary win in Michigan over Rep. Haley Stevens.
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