Maher faces off with CNN’s Jeffrey Lord: ‘Don’t bulls–t me’

Bill Maher squared off with CNN political contributor Jeffrey Lord on HBO’s “Real Time” on Friday night, challenging his guest’s honesty in defending President Trump. 

“Let’s not play games here, Mr Lord,” Maher said after Lord demanded voting machine evidence to prove or disprove Russian interference in the 2016 election. 

“I like you and I’ve heard you’re a nice guy,” Maher said, showing visible frustration, “but don’t bulls–t me.”

“There are other ways to hack an election. And that is to hack the emails of one side, and release those as a slow drip, drip, drip.” 

Maher also asked how Lord could defend Trump, who Maher referred to as “the most vulgar human being.”

{mosads}”He has always been in my presence polite, charming, sensitive, truly,” Lord replied, adding that Trump supporters may feel about Hillary Clinton the way Maher feels about Trump.

“When you heard the Hillary Clinton thing about the basket of deplorables and people are irredeemable, there are a lot of Americans out there who think the people in the media and the political world that look down on them and have contempt for them,” he added. 

“And they look at Donald Trump as somebody who can go out there who can stand up there and dish it right back.” 

Maher and Lord also battled over Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns.

Lord contended Trump’s tax returns are “irrelevant” because no president “from George Washington through Lyndon Johnson” had ever released those documents, either. 

“It’s so not irrelevant,” Maher retorted. “And you know it’s not irrelevant. Just be honest with me, sir, just be honest and I’ll be your best friend.”

“We need to get the country moving again, right?” Lord asked after some crosstalk. 

“Well, not if the country is being led by someone who was put there by a foreign power,” Maher said. 

Lord served as a White House associate political director under President Ronald Reagan. 

He signed with CNN in August 2015, not long after Trump announced his candidacy. His tenure at the network has been marked by passionate support for Trump during the campaign, and frequent clashes with other commentators critical of Trump.

The political strategist re-signed with the network in December through 2017.