Bill Maher bashes Ted Cruz as manipulative and power hungry: 'It's high intelligence in the service of evil'

Comedian Bill Maher lashed out at Ted Cruz, one of the GOP's leading candidates for party nominee, saying he considers Cruz more dangerous than front runner Donald Trump because Cruz uses his intelligence "in the service of evil" in a Thursday interview with the Daily Beast.

Maher, the host of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, spoke to the publication on Tuesday, where he tore into Cruz and talked about the current state of American politics, headed into election season.

"Ted Cruz is scarier than Donald Trump," Maher said. "It’s high intelligence in the service of evil. It’s one thing to have evil people who aren’t that bright! There’s a reason why everyone hates Ted Cruz. There’s a reason why the big question about Ted Cruz is always, 'When he shaves in the morning, how does he avoid spitting in the mirror?' To think of this guy being the president of the United States, this ambition and love of power combined with being on the wrong side of every issue, it’s a very scary prospect."

Maher also talked about the state of the Republican party going into the 2016 election year, blaming the rise of the Tea Party on racism against President Obama.

"What could it be? I am always racking my brain! Is it because he’s skinny? What could it be! That’s of course what it is," Maher said. "There was no Tea Party during Bush despite the financial collapse, the bailout of the banks, the bailout of the automobile industry—all of this 'socialist money' out the window, the thing that they supposedly hate, and yet no movement of concerned white taxpayers sprouting up. But suddenly, a month after Count Chocula takes office, they break out the three-cornered hat!"

Maher also discussed the challenges faced by a Republican party that seems to be fracturing between the establishment and its more extreme factions. He said South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who gave the rebuttal to President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday, has a battle on her hands if she is going to stand up as the face of the future of the party.

"She’s going to have to take on not just Donald Trump, but the 65 percent of Republicans who agree with him on banning Muslims," Maher said. "If that’s what she was complaining about then she’s got a bigger fight on her hands—as do all the Republican establishment—than just Donald Trump. That’s their problem: They created this monster in the party and now it’s taking over."