That may be true, but not here.
Let's look at the data:
The statistical reality is that in modern times, if a recession occurs during or pretty close to a Presidential election year, the standing President OR the Party holding the Presidency always loses that election:
August 1929-March 1933: FDR comes to power
January 1980-July 1980: Reagan is elected
July 1990-March 1991: Clinton is elected (yea, yea, I know....the recession was technically over by election day but if memory serves me correctly, the NBER didn't call the end recession until AFTER the election; indeed, they announced that we were IN a recession around March 1991)
December 2007-June 2009: Obama is elected
In contrast, if the economy is doing well, standing Presidents always win re-election.
Truman won in 1948 (note that recession started during the month of the election, and Truman almost lost)
Ike was re-elected in 1956
Nixon was re-elected in 1972
Reagan was re-elected in 1984
Clinton was re-elected in 1996
Obama was re-elected in 2012
We can say what we want about Maher, but the reality is that "It's the economy, stupid!" is a pretty solid political truth. And, judging by how Trump is flying now, and notwithstanding a flurry of other things that could throw things into a ditch, wishing for a recession is about the best thing statists can do to hope Trump loses in 2020.