Bill Maher returned to his HBO program Real Time and used the opening minutes to respond to a lengthy Truth Social message from President Donald Trump. The host said he hoped to avoid lasting bad feelings after the two men had shared dinners at the White House.
He compared the experience of dining with the president to another public figure. “Eating with Trump is a lot like dating Taylor Swift,” Maher told the audience.
“It’s a lot of fun at the time but later on, they’re tearing you a new a–hole.” The line drew laughter as he moved forward holding printed pages of the post.
Maher walked through selected lines from the post
Maher has drawn criticism for accepting Trump’s invitations. In an earlier appearance, he pushed back against people who objected, telling them “F–k you!” He said the meetings were intended to let the two sides talk and disagree while still listening to each other. He added that Trump does listen during the dinners, yet the criticism returns once Maher is back on his own show. The post began by labeling him “the complete and total loser, Bill Maher.”
Maher answered, “You got me there. Okay. I’ll own that.” The text went on to say that the few times Trump has watched the program, it ends with dishonesty about him, then asks who cares. Maher repeated the phrase and noted that the message continued for three pages anyway.
One section asserted that Maher does not view the removal of a nuclear weapon from Iran as a good thing and therefore is not very smart. In reply, Maher played clips from his own show in which he had supported the decision to strike Iran on February 28. The fighting has now lasted more than eight months. After the clips, he asked, “So, am I smart now?”
In his lengthy Truth Social rant, Trump claimed Maher had called him repeatedly. Maher said he has never placed such a call and that the president had contacted him instead. “I’d be afraid to call you. You’re the president. I think you’re too busy. Well, plainly not,” he said.
The post also stated that Maher had invited himself to the White House. Maher responded that an uninvited guest could not simply show up and joked that staff would have to announce him anyway.
Another passage described Maher as nervous at the first dinner, asking for a drink, and displaying a bruised eye and nose. Maher said photographs of the injury exist and that Trump had given them to him. The text further noted that Trump had wanted to tell him he is a major pothead. Maher replied, “I guess the cat’s out of the bag now, huh? Boy, that explains a lot. I thought I was just happy.”
The post observed that Maher looked like hell and carried alcohol while walking through the White House. Maher pointed out that the drink had been supplied to him. Trump wrote that overall he considered the meeting a good one, that he never took the host’s work personally, and that Maher is not a nice guy whose public statements do not match his actual views.
The message added that the host caters to a base made up mostly of losers. Maher answered that line by saying, “That would be you, a–holes!” The most recent dinner also included musician Kid Rock and journalist Stephen A. Smith.
Published: Nov 1, 2026 06:00 am