Comedian and HBO host Bill Maher demanded answers when he discovered that former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg — who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and garnered a sizable chunk of the party’s support — was getting no love from black voters.

Maher discussed the phenomenon with guests Dr. Phil McGraw and Stephen A. Smith during his Friday night panel discussion, and it was Smith who finally gave him an answer: “[Buttigieg] doesn’t move us.”

WATCH:

Bill Maher stuns Stephen A. Smith after explaining why Pete Buttigieg would get 0% of the black votepic.twitter.com/jR2VfXel4e

— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) August 9, 2025

“Democratic primary voters, 16% would support Buttigieg,” Maher read from his show notes. “That’s the highest of any candidate. Pete Buttigieg.”

Smith’s response to that was immediate: “I don’t believe it. I think that’s just a poll number. I can’t see that happening.”

Maher went on to qualify his initial statement, noting that there was some disparity in that support.

“Okay, but wait. 16%. Black voters? Zero,” Maher clarified. “Zero. You don’t usually see zero. Anywhere. Zero’s low.”

“For who?” Smith quipped.

“For Buttigieg,” Maher said. “Okay, explain that. I mean — why do black voters have this — I mean, he’s a nice guy …”

“Yeah, he’s under indexing a little bit with black voters,” McGraw added with a laugh.

“A little? What is that all about.” Maher asked again.

“He doesn’t move us,” Smith replied, prompting laughs from Maher and the audience. “I respect the man. I’ve interviewed him before. Very nice man, highly intelligent. But you gotta be able to move us, bro. He doesn’t move us.”

The audience kept laughing as he added, “You can speculate as to why that is, I’m not going there. He doesn’t move us.”

Comments from popular radio host Charlamagne tha God appear to back up Smith’s assertions, as he complained in 2024 that the Democratic Party had no viable prospects ahead of 2028.

WATCH:

🚨NEW: Charlamagne and Andrew Schulz say Dems got NOBODY for 2028🚨

SCHULZ: “They don’t even have one person to be president.”

CHARLAMAGNE: “Not one! … I saw Bill Maher say that the Democratic ticket, I don’t know if he was being funny … John Fetterman and Pete Buttigieg.… pic.twitter.com/ofXLFAg9bH

— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) March 9, 2025

“They don’t even have one person to be president,” Jason Schulz said.

“Not one!” Charlamagne agreed, adding, “I saw Bill Maher say that the Democratic ticket, I don’t know if he was being funny … John Fetterman and Pete Buttigieg. That ain’t gon’ do it bruh … The Democrats are in such shambles.”

The Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine and gene therapy regulator is back at his post after resigning late last month, reportedly due to a Big Pharma-backed campaign to remove him.

Dr. Vinay Prasad, the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, resigned after he received negative attention online over past posts related to his personal politics.

“At the FDA’s request, Dr. Vinay Prasad is resuming leadership of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research,” Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesman Andrew Nixon said on Saturday.

Prasad is generally considered liberal, though he bucked COVID orthodoxy and criticized Dr. Anthony Fauci during the pandemic, winning him much praise from the Right and those in the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement.

Reporting from Laura Loomer in July showcased past tweets from Prasad that Loomer suggested were evidence that Prasad is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing is sabotaging President Trump’s bold ‘Make America Healthy Again’ (MAHA) agenda.'”

🚨 ALERT 🚨

VINAY PRASAD, THE LEFTIST SABOTEUR UNDERMINING TRUMP’S @US_FDA, MUST BE FIRED NOW!

We have a crisis at the FDA! A wolf in sheep’s clothing is sabotaging President Trump’s bold “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda! Dr. Vinay Prasad @VPrasadMDMPH, a… https://t.co/T2cjicFB38 pic.twitter.com/EydtOgXYVs

— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) July 22, 2025

However, reports indicate Prasad was actually being targeted by some because of his decision to pause shipments of a gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), which is produced by Sarepta Therapeutics, claiming the genetic treatment is linked to three potential deaths.

“Hit pieces on FDA’s Vinay Prasad are being fed to the right by pharma company Sarepta, the maker of an experimental drug that just killed an eight year old boy,” Daily Caller investigative reporter Emily Kopp reported on July 25.

Days later, Prasad resigned.

Hit pieces on FDA’s Vinay Prasad are being fed to the right by pharma company Sarepta, the maker of an experimental drug that just killed an eight year old boy. https://t.co/1wCq3ksXWZ pic.twitter.com/Y8aeRtqBU9

— Emily Kopp (@emilyakopp) July 25, 2025

FDA commissioner Dr. Marty Makary has spoken highly of Prasad and signaled last week that he was working to get Prasad back at the FDA — a feat he apparently achieved.

“The idea that he was pushed out by anybody is simply untrue,” Makary told the media. “He saw some media headlines and didn’t want to be a distraction.”

“We have encouraged him to reconsider, and we are still doing that,” he added. “I am confident the FDA is going to continue to be strong. The FDA is one of the greatest brands in the world, and it’s going to continue to do that.”

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary says he is trying to persuade Vinay Prasad — who left FDA amid a PR blitz by Sarepta Therapeutics and Laura Loomer — to rejoin FDA. 🤔 pic.twitter.com/mAZmJReMmk

— Emily Kopp (@emilyakopp) August 4, 2025

Related: FDA Shake-Up: The Controversial Ouster Of The Top Vaccine Regulator