I like Bill Maher’s politics, but he may have just put Donald Trump in the White House. On his “Real Time” show this week, Maher noted that Bernie Sanders seems to defy normal age limitations and that “You can run again in four years” – sending that defiant message out to his predominantly liberal 4.4 million viewers, most of whom probably supported Sanders over Clinton.

Way to go, Bill! After several weeks of castigating Bernie Bros. for threatening to throw away their votes on Jill Stein or just not vote, which he knows could cost Clinton the election, he’s now given Bernie fanatics a perfect excuse to not support Hillary.

Their logic? “Sure, voting for Stein or Johnson might elect Trump. But so what if he fills a SCOTUS seat or two? In four years Bernie can run again, whup Trump’s ass, and all will be right with the universe.”

If only a tenth of Maher’s audience gloms onto that idea, that’s almost half a million lost votes right there. And I guarantee you that that message will spread on Facebook, Twitter and Reddit millions of times. That ahead of an election where just a few thousand lost votes could change the outcomes in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Colorado, and/or Iowa.

So if Jill Stein ends up exceeding expectations this year, costing Hillary the election, you have Bill Maher to thank for it. I’m sure Donald Trump is already thanking him.

Kevin Kelton is co-host of “The More Perfect Union” podcast and founder of the Facebook political discussion group, OPEN FIRE. Come join us for the best political debate in town.