Bill Maher used his show, “Real Time with Bill Maher,” to criticize California Democrats over education and green energy. He highlighted how Mississippi and Texas are performing better on these issues, which are often central to Democrat platforms. Maher pointed out, “Democrats, these are your issues: education, race, the environment. And I say this with love: you’re losing to the Waffle House, car-on-the-lawn states.”
Maher emphasized California’s disappointing school outcomes in comparison with Mississippi, particularly in fourth-grade results for Black students. He noted, “Did you know that a Black fourth grader in Mississippi is two and a half times as likely to be proficient in math and reading as one in California?” He added, “Mississippi is outperforming us in education for less money. We’re 37th in fourth-grade reading. They’re ninth.”
A New York Times article from February 2026, cited in Maher’s show, backed this claim, stating, “A Black Mississippi child is two and a half times as likely to be proficient in reading by fourth grade as a Black California child.” The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Programs showed Black fourth-graders in Mississippi at 19% proficient and 2% advanced in reading, compared to 7% proficient and 1% advanced in California. In math, Mississippi’s Black students scored 22% proficient and 2% advanced, beating California’s 10% proficient and 1% advanced.
On green energy, Maher stated, “Texas has passed California in solar and blows away California when it comes to wind and energy storage.” He pointed out that Texas produced 58,634 gigawatt-hours from utility-scale solar in 2025, surpassing California’s 53,713 gigawatt-hours. Though California remained ahead in small-scale solar, Texas had passed California in installed utility-scale solar capacity by 2024.
Maher attributed these differences to issues with permitting, building policy, and bureaucracy in California. “Because you’re allowed to build there,” Maher said, referring to Texas. “In Texas, not every third person is trying to halt progress,” he noted.
Maher began his segment by referencing San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who is running for governor. A UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll showed Mahan at 4%, trailing behind former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Steve Hilton, and billionaire Tom Steyer.
Additionally, Maher mentioned the challenges in California, such as halted railroad projects, unfilled potholes, and unhoused homeless populations. “That would be the unions, the bureaucrats, the lawyers, the consultants, the regulators, and special interest friends,” he said.
Maher also criticized some Republicans, including Sen. Thom Tillis and Sen. Bill Cassidy. He mocked their actions, noting that Tillis is retiring and Cassidy lost a primary. Maher referred to Sen. Mitch McConnell, joking, “I just wish he talked that way when he was alive.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Governor Gavin Newsom for comment but received no response. CJ Womack, an associate editor at Fox News, highlighted the role of journalism in shaping politics and culture. Womack graduated from Long Beach State University in 2025 with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Journalism.
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