Bill Maher Criticizes CodePink Activists for Cuba Visit: "Clueless About True Poverty"

Comedian and host Bill Maher launched a fierce critique against the radical leftist group CodePink for their recent trip to Cuba in support of the regime, describing their actions as "insane" and pointing out that the island has endured extreme poverty for 67 years, unrelated to U.S. sanctions.

Maher made these remarks on Monday during the latest episode of his podcast, "Club Random with Bill Maher," in a conversation with Democratic Senator John Fetterman from Pennsylvania. The clip quickly gained traction on social media.

"I know people who have been to Cuba. If you think you understand poverty in America, you have no idea what real poverty is," Maher asserted on the show. "And that's been going on for 67 years. It didn't start when we cut off their oil."

The comedian mocked the activists for their hypocrisy, noting that they stayed in the only luxury hotel with electricity and air conditioning while the Cuban people suffered through power outages lasting up to 20 hours a day.

"These fools with their $1,300 designer glasses going to 'support the people.' They stay in the only luxury hotel while the population has no electricity, everything they do is air-conditioned," he stated.

Maher also disclosed that during their visit, the activists went to the North Korean embassy in Havana, with one of them posting on social media their "solidarity with North Korea as two regimes opposed to U.S. violence."

"The stupidity level of these folks is that they know one thing: that this country, America, is the worst that has ever existed. That's how they've been indoctrinated," Maher concluded.

Senator Fetterman's Straightforward Inquiry

Senator Fetterman unreservedly asked, "Do they know they're useful idiots? Or are they so ignorant that they're backing a regime that's trapped an entire nation in extreme poverty and misery?"

Maher lamented the wasted potential of the island: "Cuba could be the St. Bart's of the Caribbean. It could be anything. It's Cuba, it's in the Caribbean. And it's been a nightmare for nearly a century."

Details of the Controversial Visit

The backdrop to these criticisms is the "Convoy Nuestra América," conducted from March 18 to 24, 2026, marking the largest delegation of Western leftist activists to Cuba in decades.

CodePink chartered a plane from Miami with 100 participants, each paying $1,600. The delegation delivered 6,300 pounds of medicine valued at $433,000 to the regime.

The participants included former British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Spanish politician Pablo Iglesias, streamer Hasan Piker, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, and Isra Hirsi, daughter of Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

The activists stayed in five-star hotels with private generators, including properties on the U.S. State Department's list of prohibited accommodations, during a period when Cuba experienced its third electrical collapse of the month, with blackouts affecting 90% of Havana.

Maher's Influence and Local Response

Maher is one of the most influential political commentators in the United States. Since 2003, he has hosted "Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO—earning 42 Emmy nominations—and in 2022, he launched "Club Random," one of the country's most popular podcasts.

On April 22, the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution condemning the leftist groups engaging in "tourism" in Cuba while the Cuban people endured one of their worst energy and humanitarian crises in decades.