Trump's prison sentence would provoke a 'race war'

Bill Maher thinks a prison sentence for former President Donald Trump may not be the best decision.

During a roundtable with other talking heads Friday evening, the In Real Time with Bill Maher The host shared his thoughts on what would happen if Trump was sentenced to prison as part of his sentencing for the 34 counts he was convicted of Thursday, relating to falsifying business records to bury his affair with porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election.

“I've heard some people say that if his name wasn't Donald Trump, he would definitely get some jail time,” Maher said, but the key question now is: “Is he going to jail?” Will this judge dare to do this? And should he do it?

He added that the optics of the trial, which includes a Hispanic judge and a black prosecutor, could send Trump supporters into a violent frenzy if Trump is imprisoned. “The MAGA nation will go crazy,” he said, leading to a “civil war” that would eventually become a “race war,” he predicted.

“This is the sad truth about this country. And if they put him in jail, the first thing his supporters will say is, “Oh, that's it.” A black prosecutor. You know, all these prosecutors are black. The judge was not white. It is what it is.

Whether or not that outcome plays a role in the judge's sentence, Maher expressed uncertainty, wondering aloud whether MAGA outrage should be “a reason to do or not do something,” but he also acknowledged that for him personally, “sending a former American president to prison, I don't know if that's something I'm asking for.”