Bill Maher Responds to Trump’s Criticism
On a recent episode of “Real Time,” host Bill Maher addressed President Donald Trump’s remarks about him. Trump had taken to Truth Social, calling Maher a “bastard” and labeling their White House dinner last April a “total waste of time.”
Maher recounted, “Saturday morning, I woke up to a flood of messages from him on social media, and it just wouldn’t stop. Oh, and it was Valentine’s Day, by the way.” He continued, mentioning Trump’s frustration that Maher didn’t grasp his joke about China possibly making Canada give up hockey, saying, “I guess we need to unpack that for a bit.”
In a lengthy post, Trump had criticized Maher for mocking him and claimed he was worried about losing competitive hockey in Canada as tensions with China grow.
During the show, Maher fired back at Trump’s claims. Trump remarked that Maher had been anxious during their Oval Office meeting, citing, “He walked into the famous Oval Office looking far different than I expected, clearly nervous.” Maher, however, seemed to reject that notion, asserting, “I wasn’t scared at all. Honestly, I got a lot of feedback for admitting that he was surprisingly nice.”
Trump called Maher a “very overrated lightweight” and noted that Maher’s ratings were so low that most wouldn’t hear about his alleged inaccuracies. Maher took this in stride, stating that he would continue to critique Trump, whether Trump liked it or not. “I’m an underrated lightweight? Well, I guess I never claimed otherwise,” he quipped.
The late-night host joked about the dynamics of courtesy, saying it felt like, “when a man buys you dinner and expects some return,” clarifying, “I’m not the kind of guy who plays that game.” He also corrected Trump’s story about the drinks served—Maher insisted he didn’t order vodka immediately but had actually asked for a margarita.
Maher further asserted that he definitely wasn’t nervous or insecure during their encounter. He shared that Trump’s description of him was quite exaggerated and contradictory to his own experience. “I think he got everything wrong,” Maher claimed, laughing off the suggestions of fear.
Amid all this, it became clear that Maher didn’t mind sharing his thoughts on the meeting. Despite the jabs exchanged, he remarked that the dinner had its moments, and he felt it was essential to be honest about his impressions of Trump.
As the conversation turned to reactions from both the left and right, Maher concluded, “It’s like running an election as a Democrat. Honestly, where can we win here?”
