On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” host Bill Maher criticized the attacks on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito over the “Appeal to Heaven” flag by stating that we didn’t get the full story about the flag from the initial reporting and dismissed the idea that the flag is a January 6 symbol by stating, “Nobody owns these flags,” and “George Washington flew this flag. They own George Washington now?”
Maher began by saying, “I feel like the Supreme Court used to have such esteem, and now they’re just a politician in a robe. And we see this with Alito, this brouhaha about the flag.”
Maher then discussed the upside-down American flag and argued that there is a double standard about “patriotic immunity,” where Republicans get away with things Democrats wouldn’t, but that’s a separate issue from the recusal issue.
After turning to the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, Maher said, “I find out now, because you never get the full story from the first day or from only one source, this flag flies a lot of places. They’re saying Alito flew it as…a dog whistle to the stop the steal people, to MAGA nation, that this is their flag now, it means that we don’t believe the election was fair, but it was flying over the City Hall in San Francisco for 60 years.”
He continued, “And now, because of this flap, Mayor London Breed there has ordered the flag to be removed. … I’ve seen the American flag, yes, the American flag trashed by people who think that is somehow owned by MAGA now. Nobody owns these flags, nobody owns patriotism. I think it’s a very bad thing for San Francisco to take this down and say, okay, that’s you now. No, it’s not. Why? George Washington flew this flag. They own George Washington now?”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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