HBO’s Bill Maher defended himself on Friday’s episode of Real Time from those who have attacked him and others for having a meeting with President Trump. Maher also triggered multiple liberal media outlets for his interview with former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt despite Maher using both instances to also list several things he still opposes Trump on.
During his opening monologue, Maher recalled, “Yeah, I did it again, bitches. I know, I’m the bad guy because I go and say face-to-face to the man the things you write in articles that he’ll never read, but okay. If, you know what, fuck you. I like these dinners.”
Bill Maher recently had dinner with Trump and had a few choice words for his critics, "Yeah, I did it again, bitches. I know, I'm the bad guy because I go and say face-to-face to the man the things you write in articles that he'll never read but okay. If you know what, fuck you.… pic.twitter.com/fRZv9aQ5OR
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) October 24, 2026
Maher had plenty of examples of “the things” he wished to discuss with Trump, “I had a lot to bitch about. I mean, we talked about a lot of things. The Supreme Court, ICE shootings, pulling Skylink down. Abandoning the Afghans who helped us during the war. Hegseth is dragging you down, sir. You know, when you say Obama is not a centrist, your racism is showing. Please don’t name the ocean after yourself. What else? You know when President Xi says he’s your friend, he doesn’t really give a shit about that? Losing the 2020 election. I was at the reflecting pool that day. It looked like shit, or as Trump put it the next day, ‘He’s coming around.’ I mean coming around. I’ve always been there. We should talk.”
During his interview with Leavitt, Maher would claim he likes the idea of having a White House ballroom, which led Variety’s Marlow Stern to claim their discussion was “embarrassing” and “It’s another reminder that Maher isn’t a journalist and refuses to challenge the conservative guests on his show. He’s just happy for them to be there.”
The Daily Beast’s Sarah Jane-Collins claimed the interview was a “humiliating display.”
Apparently, liberals think late night dominance is their birthright. Late night is full of hosts lobbing softballs and gushing over Democrats, but Stern and Jane-Collins won’t write about that. Furthermore, they left out the part of the interview where Maher did challenge Leavitt, as he does with other conservative guests.
During that interview, Maher wonders "We have a nice conversation and he goes "You're my enemy. Pass the peas." But he will say that. "You are my enemy." And then it later we are talking normally and we don't act like enemies and I worry that if this election goes as badly as it… pic.twitter.com/Ewb8l7nJCd
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) October 24, 2026
Not only did Maher repeat his criticisms of Trump’s Russia policy, he also recalled telling Trump his view of the Supreme Court is wrong, “There’s so many moments where he gets it. Like, I said to him, ‘You know, when you said the Supreme Court, they are voting against me, you know that's not how the Supreme Court is supposed to work, right? It’s not about—they are not voting for or against you. You appoint them and they make decisions.’ He went, ‘Yeah, I took that one too personally.’ You see what I mean? He gets it and then he doesn’t get it.”
He then asked Leavitt if Trump can be trusted to give up power, “But then he says, like, at the dinner table. It’s amazing. We have a nice conversation, and he goes, ‘You’re my enemy. Pass the peas.’ But he will say that. ‘You’re my enemy.’ And then it later we are talking normally, and we don’t act like enemies, and I worry that if this election goes as badly as it looks like it’s going to go for him and the Republicans. We’re going to have a guy who doesn’t have as much power as he did, and he’s just—we know he likes vengeance. Do you worry about this last two years, what any president would call a lame duck time, even a successful president. What’s he going to be like in that scenario?
Friday’s Real Time highlighted how Bill Maher has many of the same criticisms of Trump as the other late night hosts, but unlike them, he is willing to talk to people in Trump World. He is also willing to go after the left, but for people who want late night comedy to be late night DNC, that is unacceptable.
Here is a transcript for the October 23 show:
HBO Real Time with Bill Maher
10/23/2026
10:06 PM ET
BILL MAHER: Yeah, I did it again, bitches. I know, I'm the bad guy because I go and say face-to-face to the man the things you write in articles that he'll never read, but okay. If, you know what, fuck you. I like these dinners.
First of all. You're in the White House. There is just something thrilling about being announced when you're in the White House. That moment when you're outside the Oval Office and you hear the aide say “Sir, your 7:00 low ratings dummy is here.”
But the dinner went on for four hours. Slightly longer than the press secretary hired last week. Well. I met her. She seems nice. I feel bad for her. They threw her in the deep end but still I lasted longer on prom night. I mean, but okay.
But yes. It went on a long time. I had a lot to bitch about. I mean, we talked about a lot of things. The Supreme Court, ICE shootings, pulling Skylink down. Abandoning the Afghans who helped us during the war. Hegseth is dragging you down, sir. You know, when you say Obama is not a centrist your racism is showing. Please don't name the ocean after yourself.
What else? You know when President Xi says he's your friend, he doesn't really give a shit about that? Losing the 2020 election. I was at the reflecting pool that day. It looked like shit or as Trump put it the next day, "He's coming around." I mean coming around. I've always been there. We should talk.
…
MAHER: There's so many moments where he gets it. Like, I said to him, “You know, when you said the Supreme Court, they are voting against me, you know that's not how the Supreme Court is supposed to work, right? It's not about—they are not voting for or against you. You appoint them and they make decisions.” He went "Yeah, I took that one too personally." You see what I mean? He gets it and then he doesn't get it. Now, I'm an optimist. I prefer to think of the president as half sane.
KAROLINE LEAVITT: He's very sane. I think we can agree he is far more sane than the last one, okay? We had a mental patient in the White House.
MAHER: He’s far more energetic.
LEAVITT: That's true too. Yes.
MAHER: Okay, but then he says, like, at the dinner table. It's amazing. We have a nice conversation, and he goes, "You're my enemy. Pass the peas." But he will say that. "You're my enemy." And then it later we are talking normally, and we don't act like enemies, and I worry that if this election goes as badly as it looks like it's going to go for him and the Republicans. We're going to have a guy who doesn't have as much power as he did, and he's just—we know he likes vengeance.
Do you worry about this last two years, what any president would call a lame duck time, even a successful president. What's he going to be like in that scenario?
