Ron DeSantis, who was in California to speak to the state's GOP, appeared with Bill Maher on Friday evening, and it went well.

Pressed on everything from COVID-19 to abortion, the Florida governor had the liberal audience cheering at times as he delivered conservative answers. 

It only took a few seconds for DeSantis to get his first round of applause, touting that he made vaccine mandates illegal in Florida. Given Maher's skepticism about left-wing COVID hysteria, that was a smart strategic play to soften the room before getting into the tougher questions. 

Maher took a few shots after, which shouldn't anger any Republican because that is the point of his show (everyone should learn to laugh a little more). DeSantis then got serious when pressed on what makes him unique in the field, noting that the nation needs actual accountability for the government's COVID regime, including mandates and lockdowns. The audience ate that up.

Next, Maher brought up the idea that DeSantis campaigned for supposed "election deniers" in 2022, including Kari Lake. He was ready, though, and turned the issue around on Democrats. 

“You campaigned for election deniers in 2022”

DeSantis: “Your friends in Hollywood were cutting ads telling the Electoral College to vote against Trump because it was 'stolen.' They said Russia stole the election...Don’t act like this is like the unique thing in modern… pic.twitter.com/ICmC1xYmum

— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) September 30, 2023

MAHER: That's not a dealbreaker issue for you? That's not democracy?

DESANTIS: Well, okay, let's go back to 2016. Your friends in Hollywood were cutting ads telling the electoral college to vote against Trump in the electoral college because it was stolen. They said Russia stole the election. For years they said. So don't act like this is a unique thing in the modern history of the country.

I would have never expected that line to get the audience clapping, but it did. Perhaps the California-based liberals who make up Maher's in-person fanbase do have some self-awareness after all? 

Another moment didn't really have much to do with what DeSantis said as much as what Maher said. The host pivoted to a piece by The New York Times that tried to attack Florida's COVID response. 

“The @NYTimes did such a despicable hit piece on you” – @BillMaher to @RonDeSantis #RealTime pic.twitter.com/SMy1h0WC9o

— Brent Baker 🇺🇦 (@BrentHBaker) September 30, 2023

The attempt to rewrite history for political gain (by people on both sides) about what happened in Florida during the COVID pandemic has been absolutely mind-numbing. On one side, you've got liberals claiming that the place was a hellscape despite age-adjusted death rates (age was the top factor in COVID deaths) showing Florida did better than the national average. Florida was one of the first states to open in 2020, and DeSantis didn't rest on his laurels after that. He went much further, outlawing mask and vaccine mandates and spending the next year fighting local municipalities that wanted to keep mitigation measures in place.

For his trouble, he was accused of murdering people and given the moniker "DeathSantis." Astonishing, though, some on the right have taken to claiming that Florida was a locked-down dystopian nightmare, which is news to me given I took a beach vacation there in June of 2020, eating in person at restaurants and never being asked to don a mask. Politics is politics, I suppose. Regardless, it was great to see that a Republican could receive a warm reception in even a liberal setting by touting freedom as opposed to government intervention. 

Getting back to some of the questions, Maher brought up DeSantis' war on woke ideology (4:37 in the clip below).

Fantastic job here by Governor DeSantis. Here’s his interview with Bill Maher! pic.twitter.com/ctpnp79Mpa

— Justin Hart (@justin_hart) September 30, 2023

DeSantis explained how woke ideology isn't just an abstract, but has very real consequences on society, noting how California's crime rate is exploding due to attempts at so-called "criminal justice reform." Lastly, Maher brought up abortion, and DeSantis stood by the state's six-week abortion ban, saying that the legislature decided that a detectable heartbeat was the viable standard for enforcement. Obviously, he didn't get the cheering on that one (again, this is in California), but it was important to see him stick to his guns. Republicans can't waffle on the issue of abortion and expect to get anything but more abortions. Make the case, don't surrender. 

And look, I know the response to this by some is going to be "Well, did you know Trump is up eleven-billion points!" Yeah, I get it. Trump is leading four months before the first primary and he's the presumptive nominee. I'm not arguing that. I just don't care in this context. We praise Republicans who do good things on this site regardless of their standing in any primary. DeSantis stepped out of his comfort zone and made the GOP seem more relatable to a hostile audience. That's a good thing.