Politics

FLASHBACK: Bill Maher Says Obama Is A ‘Drop Dead Atheist’

Jamie Weinstein Senior Writer
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Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker may be catching flak from the media glitterati for not definitely affirming his belief that President Barack Obama is a practicing Christian, but he isn’t the only one who has questioned the sincerity of the president’s faith.

During an appearance last June on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” liberal comedian and mega-Obama campaign donor Bill Maher said he was confident that the president was really an atheist.

“He’s a drop dead atheist,” Maher, who himself is an atheist, said of Obama.

Maher went on to argue that Obama joined Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s church in Chicago only “because it was politically necessary.”

“He joined because he wanted to move ahead in the political world and of course you had to be part of a church,” Maher added.

Far from being an Obama hater, Maher donated $1 million to the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action during the 2012 presidential campaign.

During an interview with the Washington Post Saturday, Walker didn’t go as far as to declare the president to be an atheist, but he did refuse to say he was sure Obama was a Christian. (RELATED: WaPo To Walker: Is Obama A Christian?)

“I don’t know,” Walker said when asked if he thought President Obama was a Christian.

“I’ve never asked him that,” he went on. “You’ve asked me to make statements about people that I haven’t had a conversation with about that. How [could] I say if I know either of you are a Christian?”

A spokesman for Walker later contacted the Washington Post to say, “Of course the governor thinks the president is a Christian.”

“He thinks these kinds of gotcha questions distract from what he’s doing as governor of Wisconsin to make the state better and make life better for people in his state,” she added.

But Walker’s response ignited a firestorm among members of the media and the left.

“This is truly pathetic. Governor Scott Walker says he is unaware whether Obama is a Christian,” Democratic political operative Donna Brazile, for instance, tweeted.

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