"Real Time" host Bill Maher explained during the latest broadcast of his show that the Canadian truckers protesting vaccine mandates are justifiably upset at the elites because they had to continue to work throughout the pandemic while many others had the flexibility to sit at home at the expense of the government.
In starting the panel discussion of his Friday night show, Maher said that the Freedom Convoy is people "understanding this is about something more than just the vaccine mandate."
Panelist Vivek Ramaswamy, author of "Woke Inc.," agreed with Maher's assessment and said that the protests are about the "uprising of everyday citizens" against "the rise of this managerial class in democracies around the world."
"These are the unelected class leaders that ultimately, I think, are using the bureaucratic power to supplant the will of everyday – not only Americans but Canadians and Western Europeans too – and that's why we're seeing a fusion of both the left and the right here saying that, 'Actually we want our voices heard. We want to be able to speak without fear of putting food on the dinner table,'" Ramaswamy said.
Maher noted that truckers are organizing protests because, during the pandemic, they were the ones still working to deliver products as usual while others were able to work from home.
"You didn't use that word 'elitist' in your whole speech, but, like, that's the word I think is on people's tongues and minds," Maher told Ramaswamy. "There is this idea, and it's not wrong, that some people are staying home in their Lululemons and other people can afford to, like, wait out and get a free vacation and money from the government, and other people can't. And they're p---ed off- the people who can't."
The comedian then slammed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over his allegation that the truckers were bigots for protesting vaccine mandates.
"He was talking about people who are not vaccinated. He said, 'They don’t believe in science. They're often misogynistic, often racist,'" Maher said, referring to recent remarks from Trudeau. "No, they're not. He said, 'But they take up space. And with that we have to make a choice in terms of a leader as a country. Do we tolerate these people?'"
"'Tolerate these people'? Now you do sound like Hitler," Maher said. "And recently, he talked about them holding unacceptable views… I mean, c'mon! I think that's what gets under people's skin."
The HBO host also highlighted a report from The New York Times revealing that 72 percent of the $800 billion in COVID relief was spent on households with incomes in the top 20 percent.
"I think this is what the truckers are mad at … all that money went up to the people who are in the top 20 percent?" Maher asked.