During the latest episode of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher , the comedian and political commentator surprised his audience with an unexpectedly warm account of his private dinner with President Donald Trump. Opening the show, Maher, 69, joked that what he was about to share might “tighten liberal sphincters,” before diving into the surreal experience.
Maher recalled entering the White House ready for battle — having even printed out a list of insults Trump had previously hurled at him, including calling him a “sleaze-bag” and “low-life dummy.” The plan was to get the president to autograph the insults. “I brought this to the White House because I wanted him to sign it, which he did … with good humor,” Maher said, holding up the signed sheet as his studio audience applauded.
To his own surprise, Maher found the president far more relatable and gracious than he expected. “Everything I’ve not liked about him was, I swear to God, absent. At least on this night, with this guy,” he said, according to New York Post.
The comedian emphasized how easy and comfortable the conversation felt, even compared to past Democratic leaders: “I never felt I had to walk on eggshells around him. 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. Make of it what you will.”
The dinner guests included UFC President Dana White and musician Kid Rock , who reportedly helped arrange the gathering. According to Maher, Trump displayed a surprising level of attentiveness and curiosity throughout the night. “Mostly he steered the conversation to ‘what do you think about this?’ I know. Your mind is blown. So is mine,” he said, drawing laughs and applause from the audience.
One particularly jarring moment came when the topic shifted to Iran. Maher criticized Trump for discarding the Obama-era nuclear agreement. “He didn’t get mad or call me a left-wing lunatic. He took it in,” Maher said.
At one point during the evening, Trump casually referred to the 2020 election as something he “lost,” a moment Maher says caught him off guard. “And I distinctly remember saying, ‘Wow, I never thought I’d hear you say that.’ He didn’t get mad. He’s much more self-aware than he lets on in public.”
Maher also shared a more humorous anecdote about Trump’s commentary on the presidential portraits in the Oval Office. Pointing to Ronald Reagan, the former president quipped, “The best thing about him was his hair.” Maher noted that Trump laughed genuinely when he responded, “Taking down the Soviet Union and Communism was another fine Reagan accomplishment.”
Describing Trump in private as markedly different from his public persona, Maher noted, “Just for starters, he laughs. I’d never seen him laugh in public. But he does — including at himself — and it’s not fake. Believe me, as a comedian of forty years, I know a fake laugh when I hear it.”
Toward the end of the show, Maher reflected on the strange contrast between the man he dined with and the fiery figure often seen in the media. “A crazy person does not live in the White House. A person who plays a crazy person on TV a lot lives there. Which I know is fed up, it’s just not as f–ed up as I thought it was.”
After returning home from the dinner, Maher said he turned on the television only to see Trump revert back to his bombastic self during a press conference. “Who’s that guy? And why can’t we get the guy I met to be the public guy?” he wondered aloud.
Despite being gifted several MAGA hats and hosted in the same room where former President Clinton allegedly had trysts with Monica Lewinsky, Maher insisted there was no pressure to “go MAGA.” The evening, he suggested, offered a rare glimpse behind the curtain — and a version of Trump the public seldom sees.
Maher recalled entering the White House ready for battle — having even printed out a list of insults Trump had previously hurled at him, including calling him a “sleaze-bag” and “low-life dummy.” The plan was to get the president to autograph the insults. “I brought this to the White House because I wanted him to sign it, which he did … with good humor,” Maher said, holding up the signed sheet as his studio audience applauded.
To his own surprise, Maher found the president far more relatable and gracious than he expected. “Everything I’ve not liked about him was, I swear to God, absent. At least on this night, with this guy,” he said, according to New York Post.
The comedian emphasized how easy and comfortable the conversation felt, even compared to past Democratic leaders: “I never felt I had to walk on eggshells around him. 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. Make of it what you will.”
The dinner guests included UFC President Dana White and musician Kid Rock , who reportedly helped arrange the gathering. According to Maher, Trump displayed a surprising level of attentiveness and curiosity throughout the night. “Mostly he steered the conversation to ‘what do you think about this?’ I know. Your mind is blown. So is mine,” he said, drawing laughs and applause from the audience.
One particularly jarring moment came when the topic shifted to Iran. Maher criticized Trump for discarding the Obama-era nuclear agreement. “He didn’t get mad or call me a left-wing lunatic. He took it in,” Maher said.
At one point during the evening, Trump casually referred to the 2020 election as something he “lost,” a moment Maher says caught him off guard. “And I distinctly remember saying, ‘Wow, I never thought I’d hear you say that.’ He didn’t get mad. He’s much more self-aware than he lets on in public.”
Maher also shared a more humorous anecdote about Trump’s commentary on the presidential portraits in the Oval Office. Pointing to Ronald Reagan, the former president quipped, “The best thing about him was his hair.” Maher noted that Trump laughed genuinely when he responded, “Taking down the Soviet Union and Communism was another fine Reagan accomplishment.”
Describing Trump in private as markedly different from his public persona, Maher noted, “Just for starters, he laughs. I’d never seen him laugh in public. But he does — including at himself — and it’s not fake. Believe me, as a comedian of forty years, I know a fake laugh when I hear it.”
Toward the end of the show, Maher reflected on the strange contrast between the man he dined with and the fiery figure often seen in the media. “A crazy person does not live in the White House. A person who plays a crazy person on TV a lot lives there. Which I know is fed up, it’s just not as f–ed up as I thought it was.”
After returning home from the dinner, Maher said he turned on the television only to see Trump revert back to his bombastic self during a press conference. “Who’s that guy? And why can’t we get the guy I met to be the public guy?” he wondered aloud.
Despite being gifted several MAGA hats and hosted in the same room where former President Clinton allegedly had trysts with Monica Lewinsky, Maher insisted there was no pressure to “go MAGA.” The evening, he suggested, offered a rare glimpse behind the curtain — and a version of Trump the public seldom sees.
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