When Bill Maher sat down for dinner with Donald Trump and brushed off criticism with, “What am I supposed to do,not talk to him?”, it wasn’t just a casual meal. It was a signal.

A growing number of voices once aligned with the left, Maher, Gavin Newsom, Charlemagne tha God, are now more invested in appeasing the center and flirting with the right than defending the values that once defined their politics.

Who are they trying to win?

That question matters more than ever as foundational human rights, bodily autonomy, racial justice, LGBTQ+ safety are being reframed as political liabilities instead of moral imperatives. In the name of “dialogue” or “balance,” leaders are retreating from the communities they claim to represent.

This isn’t civility. It’s capitulation.

Progressive Gains as Political Baggage

Equity and inclusion were never meant to be convenient. They are disruptive by design,meant to challenge, not coddle, power. But today, some progressive figures are treating hard-won gains as political liabilities.

• Bill Maher now spends more time mocking the left than challenging the right.
• Newsom positions himself as the rational middle.
• Charlemagne leans into “both sides” narratives.

The subtext is clear: “We’re not like those progressives.”

But when leaders choose comfort over courage, they signal that justice is optional. They leave the most marginalized to fend for themselves and that’s not leadership. That’s abandonment.

What’s the cost of chasing power when it means losing your community?

The Appeal of Power Isn’t Always About Policy

Figures like Trump don’t just draw support through policy. Their real influence lies in performance in the projection of strength, control, and unapologetic authority.

That performance resonates, especially among men conditioned to equate dominance with leadership.

Loudness gets mistaken for strength. Control gets mistaken for vision.

And when left-leaning figures engage with this model of power even “just for a dinner” or “just for ratings” they’re not neutral. They’re normalizing it.

A Tale of Two Athletes: Jalen Hurts vs. Saquon Barkley

Jalen Hurts is building power differently. His leadership team is made up of Black women. He treats equity not as charity, but as a winning strategy. He’s proving that inclusive leadership isn’t soft it’s smart.

Saquon Barkley, on the other hand, was recently photographed stepping off Air Force One with Trump and heading to the golf course. In response to criticism, he wrote on X:

“Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand.” “Just golfed with Obama… and look forward to finishing my round with Trump! Now ya get out my mentions with all this politics and have an amazing day.”

But it’s never just golf. And it’s not just “the office.”

When you align yourself visually and vocally with someone actively undermining communities you claim to care about, it’s political whether you want it to be or not.

Hurts is using his platform to shift power. Barkley, intentionally or not, is signaling comfort alongside it.

One asks: Who can I bring with me? The other seems to ask: What do I gain by having this proximity?

The Left's Choice: Retreat or Recommit?

The left is at a crossroads.

• It can continue softening its stance and hoping centrism will protect its influence.
• Or it can reclaim its identity as a courageous, values-rooted force for justice.

That path is harder. It demands backbone, not branding. But it’s the only path that honors the people and movements who made progress possible in the first place.

We don’t need more centrists craving proximity to power. We need leaders bold enough to disrupt it.

So again: Who are you trying to win?



Because if your answer isn’t your people, your principles, or your purpose then it’s time to rethink what leadership really means.