Maher Trashes Artemis Mission, Demands Money Be Spent Elsewhere

During his monologue, Maher admitted to not seeing what the big deal was, “At a time when there's a lot of tension going on here on Earth, this is the feel-good story that has everybody excited. Everybody, wherever I go, ‘Bill, did you see the photos?’ Yeah, I saw them. Earth as I have always seen it. I'm sorry. I don't mean to be the wet blanket on the moon. I just don't get it. I mean, everybody's like, ‘You know, if we are on the moon, we can get to Mars.’ I didn't want to go there either. Okay, there's nothing out there except other rocks.” Bill Maher decides to be a fun-killer, At a time where there's a lot of tension going on that Earth, this is the feel-good story that has everybody excited. Everybody, wherever I go, 'Bill, did you see the photos?' Yeah, I saw them. Earth as I have always seen it. I'm sorry. I pic.twitter.com/XrVN7uLtM2 — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) April 11, 2026 He then worked in a shot at President Trump’s management of the war in Iran, “Let's fix the shit show here on Earth, but I will tell you this: when the astronauts get back, the world will look so differently than when they left a week ago, when we had won the war in Iran.” Later, during the panel discussion, Maher broke up a contentious argument between Independent Veterans of America CEO Paul Rieckhoff and New York Post columnist Douglas Murray over whether or not Hungary could be considered a democracy, “How about that moon?” Trying to be positive, Murray replied, “We can agree on the moon,” but Maher wasn’t so sure as he claimed, “Well, I don't know if we can agree on the moon.” Maher tried to explain, “I'm not a fan of going to the moon. Same question I've been asking as a kid. Why? Why is it worth the money? What are we doing there? It's just another big fucking rock. We could spend a lot—the money more wisely, I think.” Later, Maher continues raining on everyone's fun . I'm not a fan of going to the moon. Same question I've been asking as a kid. Why? Why is it worth the money? What are we doing there? It's another big fucking rock. We could spend a lot—the money more wisely, I think. If we were pic.twitter.com/fdz8mnHF52 — Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) April 11, 2026 Nobody would argue that the Artemis program has been run perfectly, but presumably, Maher means that the money should be spent on some collection of welfare programs or other government initiative that would not be made suddenly better with 93 billion. Meanwhile, people are being reminded that their country is capable of great things. As it was, Maher continued in his rantings that the cosmos is just not that interesting: We live in the Milky Way Galaxy. It has 100 billion stars. Kids who didn't go to school, that's like our sun. That’s a star. The sun. That’s our star. There’s 100-200 billion of those just in our galaxy. There are 30,000 million, million, million stars. No, galaxies. 350 billion large galaxies. Each one with 100-200 billion stars in it. What the fuck? You really think we’re going to figure this out at any time period that matters? We cannot get to the next planet and we would not want to, in our own solar system. It’s just something for rich people to do that is fun. It is fun, it's fun to look at. We are not getting anything from it. Rieckhoff disagreed and, when asked to explain what the country was getting out of it, replied, “What we’re getting right now is some of the only hope that we have in this country.” Maher retorted, “Oh, I could sell it cheaper.” As Rieckhoff and Maher went back and forth, Rieckhoff would hail scientific research, but Maher still wasn’t convinced. Eventually, Rieckhoff would say that hope is priceless and that the people involved in Artemis are people that others can look up to, which is similar to what he said last Friday on MS NOW when he alleged Trump “crapped on” the unity Artemis brought with his Iran speech. Here is a transcript for the April 10 show: HBO Real Time with Bill Maher 4/10/2026 10:02 PM ET BILL MAHER: No, I mean at a time when there's a lot of tension going on here on Earth, this is the feel-good story that has everybody excited. Everybody, wherever I go, “Bill, did you see the photos?” Yeah, I saw them. Earth as I have always seen it. I'm sorry. I don't mean to be the wet blanket on the moon. I just don't get it. I mean, everybody's like, “You know, if we are on the moon, we can get to Mars.” I didn't want to go there either. Okay, there's nothing out there except other rocks. Let's fix the shit show here on Earth, but I will tell you this: when the astronauts get back, the world will look so differently than when they left a week ago, when we had won the war in Iran. 10:44 PM BILL MAHER: How about that moon? DOUGLAS MURRAY: We can agree on the moon. MAHER: Well, I don't know if we can agree on the moon. PAUL RIECKHOFF: I like the moon. MAHER: I like—who doesn't like the moon. RIECKHOFF: Big fan. MAHER: To look at it from here. Fan of the moon. Okay. I'm not a fan of going to the moon. Same question I've been asking as a kid. Why? Why is it worth the money? What are we doing there? It's just another big fucking rock. We could spend a lot—the money more wisely, I think. If we were closer to actually having some goal that we could reach out there in outer space, and by the way, it's not outer space. It’s right next door. It is nothing. I looked this up. Listen, here's the universe. We're on the moon. 250 miles away. I have more miles on Delta by the way. We live in the Milky Way Galaxy. It has 100 billion stars. Kids who didn't go to school, that's like our sun. That’s a star. The sun. That’s our star. There’s 100-200 billion of those just in our galaxy. There are 30,000 million, million, million stars. No, galaxies. 350 billion large galaxies. Each one with 100-200 billion stars in it. What the fuck? You really think we’re going to figure this out at any time period that matters? We cannot get to the next planet and we would not want to, in our own solar system. It’s just something for rich people to do that is fun. It is fun, it's fun to look at. We are not getting anything from it. REICKHOFF: I disagree, Bill. MAHER: Tell me what we are getting. RIECKHOFF: What we’re getting right now is some of the only hope that we have in this country. MAHER: Hope? RIECKHOFF: The Artemis team and NASA is giving people hope in America. MAHER: Oh, I could sell it cheaper. RIECKHOFF: Maybe, but let's talk about the money. Artemis is— MAHER: Paul, that's so vague. I asked you for a concrete thing we’re getting out of it and you said hope. Alex Christy Sat, 04/11/2026 - 12:02 Marketing Timing Regular Search Engine Title Maher Trashes Artemis Mission, Demands Money Be Spent Elsewhere CNS Commentary Off