Bill Maher, the stand-up comedian and host of HBO's "Real Time," said it was "pathetic" for Republican New York City Congressman Michael Grimm to attempt to use his show in a fundraising pitch.
"It’s pathetic how easy it is to push these peoples' buttons. This guy says 'Bill Maher doesn't like me' and idiots send him money?" Maher said in an email to Business Insider.
The tiff got rolling in January, when Maher announced he was seeking nominations for the "worst" member of Congress and would work to unseat the winner. Grimm was one of the first two nominees Maher announced on his show last week in his "Flip a District" campaign.
"He’s a guy who thrust himself into the running this year by threatening to throw a reporter off the balcony of the Capitol," Maher told his viewers last week in a reference to one of Grimm's more memorable moments from earlier this year. "He seems to be all of Staten Island distilled in one man and there is a lot of enthusiasm out there for making him go away."
Grimm responded with an email to supporters entitled "The Liberals Are Coming" wherein he said Maher's insults showed why he needs donations.
"Like Bill Maher, the DCCC and Mayor de Blasio (aka the most progressive Mayor of New York City has ever seen) want this seat because it would make their lives much easier – let’s face it, I am the only one standing between them and a liberal take over of NYC," Grimm wrote in the email.