Bill Maher Blasts Liberals for Glorifying Political Assassins in New Rules Monologue

Talk show host Bill Maher unleashed a sharp New Rules monologue on Friday night. He accused American liberals of lionizing political violence and fostering a fandom for accused assassins.

Maher spoke after multiple attempts on President Donald Trump’s life and the 2025 assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk. He said the far left’s normalization of violence had hit a breaking point.

He zeroed in on online hero-worship of suspects including Luigi Mangione, the accused killer of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and Cole Thomas Allen. Allen was tackled by Secret Service agents during an attempted shooting at the White House Correspondents Association dinner in April.

"Luigi Mangione, Cole Thomas Allen, Tyler Robinson, and the ghost of Thomas Crooks must form a boy band called ‘New Kids on the Glock,’" Maher joked.

Maher said these are not the political assassins of old. Today’s killers draw popular support from young people. He cited a Harvard Youth Poll from late last year. It found nearly 40 percent of young adults believe political violence can be justified.

"Wow. Seems like five minutes ago when one of the big causes of the left was gun control, but now guns are the answer?" Maher said.

Several suspects mentioned Mangione or political grievances in their writings, Maher noted. Federal prosecutors say Jonathan Rinderknecht, suspect in the deadly Palisades Fire, was fascinated by Mangione. Rinderknecht searched terms like "lets kill all the billionaires."

"Good to see the kids have role models, huh?" Maher said sarcastically.

Maher said many find the Trump administration infuriating. But he argued personal failure drives these radicalized people. Cole Allen, the WHCA suspect, was a 31-year-old computer engineer and tutor who lived with his mother. He once dreamed of becoming a professional video game designer.

"If you're doing that much rage-thinking about Trump, you're not really mad at him. You're mad at your life," Maher said. "Do you think if he'd ever actually sold a video game and got rich, he'd be doing this?"

Maher displayed an image of Allen on the ground, apprehended by security at the Hilton during the WHCA event.

"You're not a hero," Maher told the wannabe assassins. "You're just the guy who runs out into the field during a baseball game to get attention... except in your case, you’d rather be a martyr than a nobody."