Bill Maher recounted his recent White House dinner with President Donald Trump in a lengthy monologue Friday on HBO’s “Real Time,” and as his prior comments about the sit-down suggested, the longtime critic became somewhat enamored with the MAGA leader.
“Let me first say that, to all the people who treated this like it was some sort of summit meeting, you’re ridiculous,” Maher said Friday at the top of his monologue. “Like I was going to sign a treaty or something? I have no power. I’m a fucking comedian.”
The Democratic pundit sat on a stool for the “Mr. Maher Goes To Washington” segment and presented a piece of paper with all the insults Trump has lobbed at him in the past, and happily announced that the president signed it during their meeting “12 days ago.”
The moment prompted rabid cheers from an audience, which has heard Maher criticize Trump for more than a decade now. Maher confirmed last month that their meeting was officially scheduled, and preemptively countered the backlash at the time by stating, “Fuck you.”
“You can hate me for it, but I’m not a liar,” Maher said Friday. “Trump was gracious and measured. And why isn’t that in other settings, I don’t know, and I can’t answer and it’s not my place to answer. I’m just telling you what I saw, and I wasn’t high.”
SAUL LOEB via Getty Images
Trump announced steep international tariffs on all imports to the U.S. mere days after the meeting. The declaration upended markets and sparked fears of a global recession, only for Trump to reverse course on most affected nations, except for China.
Maher notably supported Democratic candidates such as former President Barack Obama and ex-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in past elections, but also frequently criticized his party for various policies and arguable failures in messaging or tone-deaf narratives.
While he recently confirmed he won’t be joining the GOP, Maher was charmed by Trump.
“I never felt like I had to walk on eggshells around him,” he said Friday. “And, honestly, I voted for Clinton and Obama, but I would never feel comfortable talking to them the way I was able to talk with Donald Trump. That’s just how it went down. Make of it what you will.”
“I feel it’s emblematic of why the Democrats are so unpopular these days,” Maher said.
Maher previously shed light on the meeting on his “Club Random” podcast and said at the time that Trump is “one of the most effective politicians.” On Friday, he said he held the Trump’s feet to the fire about floating a potential third, unconstitutional presidential term.
Enjoy HuffPost Entertainment — Ad Free
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
“At one point, I said to him, ‘You’re scaring people. Do you really want to be scaring your own citizens so much?’” Maher said during his monologue. “And I know you’re all saying, ‘And what did he say to that?’ Honestly, I don’t remember. But it wasn’t, ‘OK, I’ll stop.’”
“So MAGA fans, don’t worry,” he continued. “Your boy gave me nothing, just hats. Hats and a very generous amount of time and a willingness to listen and accept me as a possible friend, even though I’m not MAGA, which was the point of the dinner.”