Trump labels Bill Maher a ‘very overrated lightweight’
Donald Trump posted a long message on Truth Social on Saturday morning in which he recalled his dinner at the White House with “Real Time” host Bill Maher. The president called the evening a “total waste of time” and said Maher is “no different” than his more liberal-leaning late-night foes like Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert.
“Sometimes in life you waste time,” Trump wrote. “TV host Bill Maher asked through one of his friends, also a friend of mine, to come to dinner with me and I agreed. He entered the famous Oval Office very differently than I thought. He was extremely nervous, had NO confidence in himself and, to calm his nerves, he immediately, within seconds, asked for a ‘Vodka Tonic.’ He said to me, ‘I’ve never felt like this before, I’m actually scared.’ In one respect it was somewhat endearing! Anyway, we had a great dinner, it was quick and easy, and he seemed like a nice guy and for his first show after our dinner, he was very respectful about our meeting – but with all I’ve done to bring our country back from ‘OBLIVION’, why wouldn’t he be?
Trump’s post on Friday appeared to be prompted in part by Maher, who joked about the president’s claims that China “end ALL hockey‘in Canada if the two countries reach a trade deal.
Trump added: “Anyway, it was a total waste of time for me to have this jerk in the White House and last night, after explaining what Canadian ‘leaders’ are dealing with, how Canada has ‘ripped off’ the United States on TRADE for years (but not anymore!), I jokingly stated in a TRUTH that ‘the first thing China will do is end ALL ice hockey played in Canada and permanently eliminate the Stanley Cup.’ Well, he went on and on about the Hockey statement, like ‘What kind of person would say something as silly as this’, as if I meant it when I said it.
Trump then attacked Maher’s ratings, calling him a “vastly overrated LIGHTWEIGHT.”
He concluded: “Fortunately, his television ratings are so low that no one will find out about his various Fake News statements about me. He’s no different than Kimmel, Fallon, or Colbert, but I have to admit he’s a little more talented! Anyway, Bill Maher is a highly overrated LIGHTWEIGHT, and the Republicans need to stop using him to show how the left is coming our way – our base, the greatest of all time, laughs at your weakness when you see it does! Maher asked me if he could come back to the He asked again to come to the White House and also asked with his friend if he could come to the wonderful White House Christmas party, but he didn’t. Anyway, I would much rather spend my time making AMERICA great again than wasting it on him.’
In April 2025, Maher gave a much friendlier account of his dinner with Trump. He said during an episode of “Real Time” that Trump was “gracious” and “much more self-aware than he lets on in public.”
“The guy I met is not the guy who tweeted a bunch of nasty nonsense the night before the dinner about how this dinner was a bad idea and what a crazy bastard I was,” Maher said. “First of all: he laughs. I have never seen him laugh in public. But he does, also at himself. He is not fake.”
