What To Know
- Bill Maher made several jokes about Senator Mitch McConnell’s health scare and recovery on Real Time.
- Maher also noted “Common ground with the late Lindsey Graham.
- Senator McConnell, 84, is currently recovering in a rehabilitation facility.
Bill Maher made several jabs at Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) amid the politician’s health scare recovery — while also pointing out “common ground” with the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
During the Friday, July 31 episode of Real Time With Bill Maher (right after its summer hiatus), Maher, 70, referenced the two Republicans in his opening monologue.
“I had a crazy break, I gotta tell you,” he began. “I’ll tell you one thing: Mitch McConnell can party. The rest of it is a blur. All I know is that I’m married to Taylor Swift now. I don’t know how it happened.”
Maher then recapped some of what happened while Real Time was on a month-long break. “Lindsey Graham dropped dead, you know this. Mitch McConnell also died, but he still wanders the Earth.
On a more serious note, Maher pointed out, of Graham, “Look, you say what you want about him. He had a funeral the other day, [Washington] National Cathedral, world leaders showed up. That is not often a senator gets that kind of a send-off”
“Looking for common ground with Lindsey: We both made it to 70 without getting married,” the stand-up comedian added. “We took slightly different pathways, but I’m just saying, we both made it to 70.”
Statement From Senator Mitch McConnell
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) released the following note to constituents regarding his hospitalization and recovery:
“To my fellow Kentuckians –
“When you elected me to a seventh term and made me our… pic.twitter.com/kfx2GKqd38
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 12, 2026
To conclude his monologue, Maher again brought up McConnell while speaking about AI holograms of deceased people.
“Now, it’s a way to deal with grief,” he acknowledged. “And also a way so Mitch McConnell can keep voting.”
Graham died at 71 on July 11. Meanwhile, McConnell, 84, was hospitalized for a month after falling at his Washington, D.C., home in mid-June. The senator is now at a rehabilitation facility amid his recovery, and has not yet been cleared to return to the U.S. Capitol.
Real Time With Bill Maher, Fridays at 10/9c, HBO