Bill Maher used his HBO show Friday to push back hard against critics upset over his second dinner with President Donald Trump at the White House, telling his audience he has no regrets.
“Yeah, I did it again, b—-es,” Maher said during his opening monologue on “Real Time,” referring to the Oct. 15 dinner, which also included sports commentator Stephen A. Smith and musician Kid Rock. “You know what? F— you. I like these dinners.”
The gathering followed an earlier dinner Maher had with Trump in April 2025. Trump told reporters afterward that he enjoyed the evening with the three celebrities.
“The dinner last night with Kid Rock and Stephen A. [Smith] and Bill Maher was great,” Trump said. “I think they had a good time.” He added that Maher “likes me a lot more than people understand” and that “we talked about everything. It lasted a long time.”
Maher had revealed the upcoming dinner earlier in the month during his “Club Random” podcast, in a conversation with Hollywood executive Ari Emanuel. He said the invitation came out of nowhere after their first meal together.
“After the first dinner, I went back to doing what I do… But then, like, he just, out of the blue, let’s have dinner again. And I was like, great. And he was really nice,” Maher said. He described Trump texting him a promise not to be insulted again, to which Maher said he replied, “You know what, you’re the president of the United States. Say whatever the f— you want. I’m just glad we’re talking.” Maher compared it to being called a “hockey puck” by the late comedian Don Rickles. “It’s just what he does. It’s how he talks.”
Maher’s first dinner with Trump in April 2025 also included Kid Rock and UFC CEO Dana White. Afterward, Maher told his audience he may have misread the president’s public persona.
“You can hate me for it, but I’m not a liar. Trump was gracious and measured,” Maher said at the time. “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.”
That hasn’t stopped Maher from continuing to criticize Trump’s policies. In June, he mocked the administration’s Iran deal, joking that Trump went from demanding “unconditional surrender” to accepting a memorandum of understanding that the White House still celebrated as a win. “We got everything we wanted except for everything we asked for,” Maher said.
A Calculated Response?
Jason Mudd, CEO of Axia Public Relations, told Fox News Digital that Maher’s Friday monologue looked like a planned response rather than an off-the-cuff reaction.
“Maher walked in with a plan. His Friday monologue showed it. I said last week that each event guest needs a prepared message in anticipation of public criticism,” Mudd said.
Mudd said addressing the backlash directly, while staying true to his comedic style, could help Maher keep his audience’s trust.
“If Bill Maher were my client, I’d advise him to keep sounding like himself. A host who sounds like a surrogate loses credibility. Maher sounded like Maher, so that risk stays low. Repetition is the next risk, because each new dinner invites the same questions,” he said.
“Comedians win by joking first, not by clarifying,” Mudd added. “Naming the backlash before his critics do takes much of their power away.”
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