March 8, 2026, 11:48 a.m. ET
Bill Maher is hitting back as President Donald Trump continues to bash him on social media.
On the March 6 episode of “Real Time,” the comedian addressed the fact that he was the subject of several of Trump’s Truth Social posts earlier in the day. Without comment, the president shared multiple news articles covering his previous remarks slamming Maher as a jerk.
After pointing out that these posts were coming amid the United States’ conflict with Iran, Maher expressed bewilderment and said, “This is getting weird.”
Trump previously lambasted Maher in a Truth Social post in February, saying it was a “total waste of time” for the two to have dinner together at the White House in 2025. The dinner was set up by their mutual friend Kid Rock, and Trump complained that Maher’s HBO show has been “very boring” and “ANTI TRUMP” ever since they sat down together.
On his latest episode, Maher devoted a segment to responding to Trump’s post. He alleged that Trump texted him “soon after” their dinner last year to complain that “I was still part of the lunatic left” and say that Trump “should have won a Nobel Prize for ending wars,” to which Maher said he responded, “Yeah, and I should have won 20 Emmys.”
According to Maher, he and Trump “argued for a while” via text, and Trump “ended by saying, ‘Bill, you know what? Don’t change. I wouldn’t know what to do with you if you did.’ “
“OK, that’s the normal human being I saw the night we broke bread, and as long as I think there’s even a spark of a possibility of bringing that guy out more, I will not consider the dinner a waste of time, even as I now see we’re back to name calling,” Maher said.
Maher objected to several of the claims Trump made in his Truth Social post about the dinner, maintaining that despite what the president said, he didn’t “ask for” the dinner, he wasn’t “nervous” or “scared,” and it wasn’t a “quick” sit-down.
“I was having a good time,” Maher said. “So were you, Don, because we were talking like real humans, not like that crazy act you put on in public.”
Maher went on to show clips of him giving Trump credit for some things he has done in office to illustrate that he doesn’t suffer from “Trump derangement syndrome” like the president has claimed, though he argued Trump is suffering from “Bill Maher derangement syndrome.” Maher noted he has defended his decision to have dinner with Trump, even as some on the left criticized him for doing so.
“Despite all the hate I got from my side, I never threw you under the bus and said, ‘Oh, you’re right, I shouldn’t have ate steak with Hitler,’ because that’s stupid,” Maher said, addressing Trump.
At the same time, Maher told Trump that there’s “lots of stuff you do that is not my idea of success, and I have every right to say so in a democracy.”
Maher previously addressed Trump’s post about him on the Feb. 20 episode of “Real Time.” The comedian said he “didn’t think” his dinner with Trump was a waste of time and suggested Trump was upset because he expected Maher would stop criticizing him after their meeting.
“I never said I would!” Maher said. “I know how women feel now: A guy buys you dinner and then expects you to put out. I’m not that guy.”
