Bill Maher has doubled down on his newfound fondness of President Donald Trump after meeting him for dinner at the White House, despite sparking outrage from liberals.
Maher, 69, a longtime Trump critic and political commentator, invited Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on his Random Club Podcast.
During the episode, which aired on Sunday, Maher unapologetically addressed his trip to the White House that shifted his views on the Republican president he previously bashed.
Unwilling to walk about his claims of Trump being ‘gracious and measured’ during their meeting, the comedian asserted he is ‘not going to pretend’ it’s a ‘bad thing’ his meeting with the president eased tensions between them.
‘I voted for Obama, I voted for Clinton,’ Maher passionately began as Kirk intently listened.
‘But the idea that I could talk to them as freely as I felt this conversation was going is emblematic, to me, of why the Democrats lose the elections.’
Maher went on to describe Trump as more approachable – more of a ‘real person’ – than his Democratic counterparts.
‘I know it’s so weird to say that about Donald Trump, who I’ve said a jillion times is, you know, a whiny little b***h.
‘But this was about getting past that and maybe seeing that if we met in person, we don’t hate each other as much – and we don’t – and I’m sorry, I’m not going to pretend that’s a bad thing.’
NEW: Bill Maher tells Charlie Kirk he refuses to pretend that having dinner with Donald Trump is a bad thing—no matter what the left thinks.
Maher didn’t hide his past criticisms of Trump—but made it clear that the conversation they shared at the White House was something… pic.twitter.com/5Dj8Lk5JxX
— The Vigilant Fox (@VigilantFox) April 20, 2025
The meeting that sent shockwaves through the left was organized by musician Kid Rock last month.
Kid Rock said he wanted the pair to meet to ‘have a little more civility in this country and try and bring people together,’ the rocker explained on Fox & Friends in late-March.
The dinner was attended by being Kid Rock, who also appeared in the Oval Office as Trump signed a ticket scalping executive order, the president, Maher and UFC CEO Dana White.
While reflecting on the evening, Maher spoke fondly of Trump, despite their extensive history of clashes.
‘He’s much more self aware than he lets on in public,’ he said on his HBO Max talk show Real Time.
‘Look, I get it, it doesn’t matter who he is at a private dinner with a comedian. It matters who he is on the world stage.
‘I’m just taking it as a positive that this person exists, because everything I’ve ever not liked about him was, I swear to God, absent – at least on this night.’
He also discussed how comfortable he felt speaking with the president and how he could never imagine having such a relaxed conversation with Democratic leaders he voted for in the past.
Since coming forward with his Trump review, liberal critics have called out Maher, claiming he has fallen for conservative propaganda.
Democratic strategist James Carville, for example, called his ‘friend’ Maher a ‘supremely naïve man’ on his Politics War Room podcast.
Social media users have had strong reactions to Maher’s apparent change of heart as well, with some simply not buying it.
One X user reacted to Maher’s Sunday podcast comments: ‘This is simply the classic change of mind when on the losing side. Maher is not dumb.
‘He realizes he’s losing his audience and needs to switch to – “ya know Trump ain’t so bad” stance to keep his relevance and income.’
Others, however, shared their support for Maher’s honest reaction, even if it went against his previous assertions.
‘When Bill Maher’s saying Trump feels more real than Democrats, you know the mask has slipped. Turns out authenticity beats identity politics every time,’ someone wrote on X.
