By Isabella Torregiani
2:49pm PDT, Jun 3, 2025
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Bill Maher faced off against acclaimed playwright
David Mamet over President
Donald Trump's refusal to concede the 2020 election.
During their heated interview on Sunday, June 1, Mamet questioned why Maher keeps revisiting the 2020 election.
Keep reading to find out what they had to say…MORE:
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Bill Maher remains focused on the 2020 election because, as he said on his show, "It's not been resolved. There's an asymmetry in how American elections are handled."
The "
Club Random" podcast host explained that traditionally, after an election, the losing party concedes.
"Democrats concede defeat all the time," Maher said. "You win some, you lose some — and they go home. Hillary Clinton went home, Kamala Harris went home. But you can't imagine [Donald] Trump ever doing that."
David Mamet pushed back on this, arguing Trump wasn't obligated to concede: "Look, if you lose a prize fight and the other guy gets the belt, you don't have to concede verbally. It's not required," Mamet said.
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Their conversation soon turned to
the January 6 Capitol riot — when protestors stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the certification of the
2020 election results.
Bill Maher argued that Trump's refusal to accept defeat encouraged his followers to riot. "It was about people who never heard their leader say what every other leader has said after an election: 'OK, I lost. We welcome the new leader. We had disagreements, but now we're all Americans.'"
David Mamet challenged this, saying. "So what? Just because he didn't say 'I concede' doesn't mean he caused half the country to riot."
The host quickly fired back, "So what?! That mindset inspired millions to reject the fundamental democratic principle that elections have outcomes. When you lose, you step aside and become the loyal opposition."
"You're full of it!" Mamet exclaimed. "I don't see how Trump not conceding verbally caused the riot."
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Bill Maher further clarified his point, arguing that while not everyone took part in the riot, a significant portion of the country may no longer trust election results they don't agree with.
"At least a third of the country will now, in the future, never accept any electoral results," Maher said. "And a democracy can't continue in that way."
