{"id":2579829,"date":"2026-03-14T10:59:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T14:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-maher-accuses-trump-of-being-caught-off-guard-by-hormuz-closure\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T11:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T15:02:13","slug":"bill-maher-accuses-trump-of-being-caught-off-guard-by-hormuz-closure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-maher-accuses-trump-of-being-caught-off-guard-by-hormuz-closure\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Maher accuses Trump of being &#8216;caught off guard&#8217; by Hormuz closure"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbill-maher-accuses-trump-of-being-caught-off-guard-by-hormuz-closure%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2579829&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article reports that Bill Maher criticized Donald Trump\u2019s handling of Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, arguing the White House is unprepared for an Iranian blockade of the strait. It stresses the strategic importance of Hormuz as a major oil chokepoint and notes that Iran has continued attacks on ships there, despite claims by the Trump administration that Iran\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-responds-to-myanmars-military-coup-we-will-take-action\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Responds To Myanmar\u2019s Military Coup: We \u2018Will Take Action\u2019\">military power<\/a> has been decimated. Maher and guests debate whether the U.S. should be more assertive,wiht Lloyd Blankfein pointing out the strait\u2019s narrowness makes it vulnerable even to limited threats. The piece also covers Trump\u2019s recent actions and statements, including strikes on Kharg Island and the suggestion that the U.S. Navy will escort tankers through Hormuz, while Maher has previously supported intervention in Iran.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Bill Maher accuses Trump of being &lsquo;caught off guard&rsquo; by Hormuz closure<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2531817\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Political comedian and late-night talk show host <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bill-maher\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"225\">Bill Maher<\/a> blasted President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump&rsquo;s<\/a> handling of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/iran\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"100\">Iran&rsquo;s<\/a> continued attacks on the Strait of Hormuz, as the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"339\">Trump administration<\/a> says the Iranian military has been largely decimated.<\/p>\n<p>In particular, Maher accused the White House of being unprepared for an Iranian military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4491813\/trump-job-advice-next-generation-jake-paul-interview\/\">Trump gives job advice for the next generation in Jake Paul interview<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4491733\/grenell-done-at-kennedy-center\/\">Trump says Grenell done at Kennedy Center, announces new leadership<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4490085\/timothee-chalamet-critiques-not-the-opera\/\">Timothee Chalamet critiques not the opera, but the audiences that have abandoned it<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Iran is one of the greatest oil producers in the world. A lot of oil comes through Iran. And it all goes through this bottleneck, called the Strait of Hormuz. And the administration seems to be caught off guard that if you attack a country, they might use their best asset for leverage,&rdquo; Maher said. &ldquo;This is all in the sequel to &lsquo;The Art of War&rsquo; called the &lsquo;No Sh*t of Sherlock.&#8217;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4460164\/trump-endorsement-tracker-gop-2026-election-primaries\/\"><strong>TRUMP ENDORSEMENT TRACKER: HERE&rsquo;S WHO THE PRESIDENT HAS PICKED IN GOP MIDTERM ELECTION PRIMARIES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The host continued slamming the Trump administration over the Persian Gulf blockade.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Trump says, no Air Force. Iran has no Air force, no missiles, and no Navy. He says, &lsquo;There&rsquo;s nothing left to bomb,&#8217;&rdquo; Maher said. &ldquo;Yeah, we have nothing left to bomb. Apparently, they have something left to bomb, which is the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<p>The president <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/116225502010036899\">called<\/a> the Iranian military &ldquo;totally defeated&rdquo; on Friday night, with War Secretary <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pete-hegseth\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1991\">Pete Hegseth<\/a> similarly <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4490994\/iran-war-enters-next-phase-destroying-entire-missile-supply-chain-pete-hegseth\/\">saying<\/a> that Iran &ldquo;doesn&rsquo;t have a functioning air force&rdquo; and deeming that &ldquo;their entire navy is at the bottom of the Persian Gulf&rdquo; on Friday. With the U.S. declaring the Iranian regime&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >fighting power completely decimated<\/a>, Maher questioned how the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c80j4rln8zmo\">attacking<\/a> ships in the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4487861\/us-iran-fight-spreads-strait-hormuz\/\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t understand this. We have complete military superiority. We&rsquo;re bragging about that, except for the one place where we apparently need complete military superiority,&rdquo; Maher said.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4480699\/2026-primaries-incumbent-warning-signs\/\"><strong>FIRST 2026 PRIMARIES REVEAL TROUBLE FOR INCUMBENTS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Maher&rsquo;s guest, former CEO of Goldman Sachs Lloyd Blankfein, chimed in, saying it&rsquo;s not hard for a depleted Iran to control the strait because of the waterway&rsquo;s narrowness.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t take much to fire cheap drones and menace ships so that they don&rsquo;t go through,&rdquo; Blankfein said.<\/p>\n<p>Maher has supported U.S. intervention in Iran following the regime&rsquo;s violent crackdown on protesters.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If Trump somehow gets Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran all to be not these horrible places they were, he should get a Nobel Peace Prize,&rdquo; Maher said in late January.<\/p>\n<p>Shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important oil shipping waterways in the world, has largely <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/defense\/4487861\/us-iran-fight-spreads-strait-hormuz\/\">been choked off<\/a> by the IRGC since early March after the first U.S.-Israeli joint strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, Trump announced the U.S. military conducted a bombing raid on Iran&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fire-engulfs-cuban-oil-refinery-as-crippling-oil-crisis-deepens\/\" title=\"Fire engulfs Cuban ... refinery as crippling ... crisis deepens\">oil lifeline<\/a> of Kharg Island, saying the raids &ldquo;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4491959\/trump-strikes-kharg-island\/\">totally obliterated<\/a> every MILITARY target&rdquo; on the island.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4491959\/trump-strikes-kharg-island\/\">TRUMP LAUNCHES STRIKES ON IRANIAN OIL LIFELINE KHARG ISLAND<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our Weapons are the most powerful and sophisticated that the World has ever known but, for reasons of decency, I have chosen NOT to wipe out the Oil Infrastructure on the Island. However, should Iran, or anyone else, do anything to interfere with the Free and Safe Passage of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz, I will immediately reconsider this decision,&rdquo; Trump wrote on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/116224324444349237\">Truth Social<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RapidResponse47\/status\/2032589623466029367\">told<\/a> reporters on Friday that he expects the U.S. Navy to begin escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz &ldquo;very soon.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maher: Trump unprepared for Hormuz closure<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3976,"featured_media":2579830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP22087199037603.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32100,4551,32404,75799,3634],"class_list":["post-2579829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-bill-maher","tag-foreign-policy","tag-geopolitics","tag-hormuz","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP22087199037603.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2579829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2579829"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2579829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2579833,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2579829\/revisions\/2579833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2579830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2579829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2579829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2579829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}