Bill Maher missed the target when trying to cast Operation Epic Fury as a disaster last night, which got shut down by guest Douglas Murray, who outlined how this military action was a tremendous strategic success. Now, what’s the off-ramp here? That’s a legitimate question, as the Trump White House has all but said the military objectives behind Epic Fury have been met, more or less:
Douglas Murray just shattered the “failure” narrative with receipts after Bill Maher declared the Iran operation a disaster and called for the U.S. to “cut and run!”
— Overton (@overton_news) April 11, 2026
MAHER: “We did it and it didn’t work.”
“Now what? Do we cut and run or do we stay the course?”
“I hope Donald… pic.twitter.com/uZZgRdX19l
MAHER: We did it, and it didn’t work.
Now what? Do we cut and run, or do we stay the course? I hope Donald Trump is the abandoner he’s always been.
We always cut and run!
We did it in Vietnam, we did it in Iraq, we did it to the Kurds, we did it in Afghanistan, we did it in Beirut. That’s us. No lifeguard on duty.
If you get in with us, we are going to fck you, and that’s Donald Trump. He’s an ashole but he’s our a*shole. Murray pushed back with a blunt assessment of what he says actually happened on the ground:
MURRAY: I disagree because I think once started, you have to finish this.
I don’t agree that it’s failed. It’s been an incredibly successful operation in lots of ways.
Supreme leader dead, Iranian air force destroyed, nuclear sites attacked again. The Navy of Iranian Revolutionary government at the bottom of the ocean. These are not small things. It’s not the case that the Iranian Revolutionary government has come out of this well.
I know that some people are wanting to say that after four to six weeks of war, this is some kind of loss for America.
It isn’t.
It’s an amazing strategic success but everyone wants to know what the out is.
Maher isn’t one of us—we all know this—but he has been more willing to challenge his side, which has gone off the rails with woke, DEI-obsessed, illiberal nonsense. The man enjoys conversation. If you listen to his podcast, Club Random, he talks with anyone, which is problematic for leftists today because it threatens their authoritarian mindset. Exposure to different ideas is considered heretical. The process of testing and scrutinizing their policies is seen as heretical behavior. That’s partly why they’re so extreme today.
Maher was right about Islam here, where he’s been openly critical of the religion for years:
Bill Maher just went so hard against Islam, it left his guests in stunned silence.
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) April 11, 2026
It all started when Maher recalled how people overused the term “Islamophobia” after 9/11.
He says that moment was the “beginning” of a “wokeness” that forbade you to say this out loud:
“There… pic.twitter.com/ge87oTx9wo
Where’s the lie there?
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy Townhall’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member