Louis C.K. is conflicted.
Earlier this year, he called Donald Trump an “insane bigot” and compared the now presumptive Republican nominee to Adolf Hitler. But in an interview published this week in New York Magazine, the comedian said he understood why some people chafed at entertainers who dive into politics.
“Celebrities saying things politically is obnoxious,” he explained, “because you’ve got a bullhorn that was given to you for one reason and you used that bullhorn for something else.”
Not that he has any intention of pulling back. In fact, the comedian offered a sort of challenge to his colleagues.
“I think when there’s somebody as terrible as Trump running, you’re a little bit of a coward by keeping it to yourself if you’re really concerned about it,” he said.
Of his comments in March, C.K. recalled, “I felt like I had to raise my hand and be counted because I believe he’s a bigot with a hole in his heart. A guy who shouldn’t be anywhere near the f—–g thing is the Republican nominee.”
“Hillary is better at this than any of these people,” he continued, expressing some affection for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders before launching into a very detailed metaphor to explain the 2016 campaign.
“It’s like if you were on a plane and you wanted to choose a pilot,” the comedian began.
“You have one person, Hillary, who says, ‘Here’s my license. Here’s all the thousands of flights that I’ve flown. Here’s planes I’ve flown in really difficult situations. I’ve had some good flights and some bad flights, but I’ve been flying for a very long time, and I know exactly how this plane works.’ Then you’ve got Bernie, who says, ‘Everyone should get a ride right to their house with this plane.’ ‘Well, how are you going to do that?’ ‘I just think we should. It’s only fair that everyone gets to use the plane equally.’ And then Trump says, ‘I’m going to fly so well. You’re not going to believe how good I’m going to fly this plane, and by the way, Hillary never flew a plane in her life.’ ‘She did, and we have pictures.’ ‘No, she never did it.’ It’s insane.”
So why, despite those considerable qualifications, does C.K. believe Clinton has faced such consistent headwinds with skeptical voters?
“There is a fear of Hillary,” he said. “I think some of it has to do with Hillary being such a strong candidate and being a woman. The response to her is very male. The other side is very male-oriented. Trump is a man. Well, he’s a boy, and Bernie is an old man.”