Patton Oswalt says Trump appeals to ‘very damaged people’ who fantasize about being powerful

Comedian Patton Oswalt discussed President Donald Trump’s appeal to voters during an interview with Bill Maher on Monday, saying that the president draws “very damaged” people.

Maher opened the conversation on his “Club Random” podcast by saying Trump remains in touch with the younger spirit of the country, despite his age. He added that younger generations, in his view, don’t understand rules and norms, blaming what he called a collapse of the education system.

“What’s even worse is, you’re talking about what he’s in tune with, he is really, really in tune with that period when you’re really young, and you feel insanely intimidated by the world, so what you have, until you figure out who you are, is just bravado and provocation and being offensive, because you don’t know how else to be,” Oswalt told Maher.

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Patton Oswalt attends the premiere of “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on Sept. 9, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/FilmMagic)

Oswalt said that when he was in his 20s, he often said, “this is bulls—,” because he was afraid to admit liking something that might later seem “lame.”

“That’s how he is every second of the day,” Oswalt said of Trump.

Oswalt later said Trump appeals to middle-aged Americans who live “under the heel of some boss.”

“They’ve got no power, and they’re watching people. They watch a boss go, ‘No one who works in this factory can smoke,’ and he just lights up in front of them,” Oswalt said. “They fantasize about being that guy. And that’s who Trump is, and that’s their fantasy.” 

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President Donald Trump signs a funding bill to reopen the government in the Oval Office of the White House on Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)

“And these people that go, ‘So he’s saying America First,’ and he just put out a video where he’s dropping s—, and in one of the frames the s— drops on the American flag, and people go, ‘Yeah, he can totally contradict himself. That’s power,'” he added.

Oswalt continued, “There’s a thing that appeals to very damaged people, and there’s a lot of damaged people in this country right now, that have been damaged by the system.”

He described Trump as a “giant, colicky baby” during the discussion.

Maher said the president was smart to surround himself with younger people, though he noted he didn’t necessarily support them. 

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Patton Oswalt attends a live “Severance” podcast taping with Ben Stiller and Adam Scott at NeueHouse Hollywood on Aug. 16, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Eric Charbonneau/Apple TV+ via Getty Images)

Maher cited White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s viral response — “Your mom did” — when a reporter asked who suggested Budapest for Trump’s October meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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Maher laughed as Oswalt said there was something very funny about it, but also something “scary” about it.