Fran Lebowitz Kinda Apologizes for Saying Saudis Should ‘Get Rid of’ Trump Like Khashoggi

Author Fran Lebowitz was a guest on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher Friday night and got herself in hot water when she spoke about President Trump. After addressing her reaction to the Mueller report and her dismay over how Attorney General William Barr handled the aftermath, she said she “was shocked. It’s shocking. It’s shocking. It’s a criminal thing that [Barr] did.”

Lebowitz went on to say that Trump should suffer the same fate as Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist who, according to the CIA, was tortured and murdered on orders from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

“Whenever I think about this and what he [Trump] really deserves, I think we should turn him over to the Saudis. You know, his buddies. The same Saudis who got rid of that reporter. You know, Maybe they could do the same for him,” Lebowitz said.

Later during the online-only “Overtime” portion of the show, Lebowitz apologized. But both she and Maher seemed to be more annoyed that the apology was necessary in the current climate of political correctness and social media reactions. After Maher said he was familiar with the spot she was in, Lebowitz mentioned that the producer said they were getting “blowback” on Twitter about her remarks.

#FranLebowitz clarifies her Trump comments on #RTOvertime: pic.twitter.com/m0nFrsjygZ

— Real Time (@RealTimers) May 18, 2019

“I didn’t realize that I had said it. I had 12 cups of coffee. I regret saying it. I did not mean that and I regret saying it. I regret that everyone misinterpreted it,” Lebowitz said.

Maher then followed up, showing his obvious frustration saying, “It’s a live show. You don’t really want to see the president dismembered by the Saudis.”