bill maher
© screenshot/YouTubeBill Maher
'When both sides believe the other guy taking over means the end of the world, yes, you can have a civil war,' he says

Late night talk show host Bill Maher has had a change of heart, telling his audience that he plans to tamp down his anti-Trump comedy over fears that America's political divisiveness could spark a second civil war.

"I have been guilty of saying things like that," Maher said on his HBO show "Real Time" on Friday, referring to mocking conservatives. "I'm going to try to stop. I've learned that the anti-intellectualism of the right doesn't come primarily from stupidity, it comes from hate. Telling people they're irredeemable is what makes them say, 'You know what, I'd rather side with Russia than you.'"

"Lately, we've been hearing more and more about a second civil war, which sounds impossible in this modern, affluent country," Maher said. "It is not. We talk about Trump as an existential threat, but his side sees Democratic control of government the exact same way. When both sides believe the other guy taking over means the end of the world, yes, you can have a civil war."

"We are going to have to learn to live with each other, or there will be blood," Maher continued. "So don't freak out if Ellen [DeGeneres] sits next to George Bush at a football game."

Maher reminded his mostly left-leaning audience that conservatives aren't going anywhere despite their efforts to shun them from society.

"Even if the Democrats win everything in 2020, the Republicans will still be here, they're not going to self-deport. They're in Congress, in your office, sometimes your home," Maher added.

"Home is where you learn that the three magic words in any relationship aren't, 'I love you.' They're, 'let it go.'"

The Democrats' rhetoric against conservatives has reached levels of insanity never before witnessed in American politics, with some media figures falsely accusing Trump of killing "millions" more civilians than Hitler, Stalin, and Mao combined, or sitting members of Congress like Rep. Maxine Waters calling for Trump to be tortured in solitary confinement.

It's encouraging to see some Democrat thought leaders like Maher recognize that we're standing at the precipice of war and encourage his audience to rethink their political anger driven by the media.