Trump says dinner with 'jerk' Bill Maher was a 'total waste of time'

What did Trump criticize about Bill Maher's White House dinner?

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Nearly a year later, President Donald Trump says his dinner with Bill Maher was not a good use of time.

In an almost 500-word post on Truth Social Feb. 14, Trump slammed the "Real Time With Bill Maher" host as a "highly overrated LIGHTWEIGHT" after meeting with him at the White House early last year.

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Maher for comment.

Maher received criticism from some of his liberal viewers in April 2025 after he had dinner with Trump and subsequently said on his HBO show that it was a positive experience. Trump, though, wrote on Truth Social that it was a "total waste of time for me to have this jerk at the White House."

Trump's post appeared to have been inspired by the way Maher covered a statement of his from earlier in the week. On the latest "Real Time" on Feb. 13, Maher mockingly read a Feb. 9 Truth Social post where Trump discussed a potential trade deal between Canada and China, claiming that China would "terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup." Maher expressed bewilderment with Trump's statement, asking on his HBO show, "Why would China destroy hockey?"

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In his Feb. 14 post on Truth Social, Trump shot back that he was not "being serious" when he made this statement about hockey and concluded that Maher is "no different" than the other late-night hosts he has frequently attacked, including Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert.

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Trump also claimed Maher was "extremely nervous" and "had ZERO confidence in himself" when they met, adding that although they had a "great dinner" and Maher "seemed to be a nice guy," his show has since been "very boring" and "ANTI TRUMP."

Kid Rock, a vocal supporter of Trump, set up the dinner between Maher and Trump at the White House in 2025. Afterward, the comedian said on his show that Trump was much different in person than he expected, telling viewers the president is self-aware and has a good sense of humor.

"Look, I get it. It doesn't matter who he is at a private dinner with a comedian," Maher said. "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 with this guy."

He added, "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. That's just how it went down. Make of it what you will."

Read the transcript: Bill Maher's full monologue on his Donald Trump meeting

Maher also defended his decision to meet with Trump in the first place, despite being a frequent critic of the president's. He said he is part of a "contingent of centrist-minded people who think there's got to be a better way of running this country than hating each other every minute."

Larry David later satirized Maher comments in an article for The New York Times. The "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star's essay, "My Dinner With Adolf," was a fictional piece written from the perspective of a critic of Adolf Hitler who had dinner with him in 1939 and came away impressed, a parody of Maher's monologue about his dinner with Trump.

Maher responded by telling Piers Morgan that "the minute you play the 'Hitler' card, you've lost the argument," while noting David's essay "wasn't my favorite moment of our friendship."

Maher discussed the controversy surrounding his Trump dinner again in November. While talking about the phenomenon of people who cut off contact with others because of political disagreements, Maher slammed the "childish" critics who were unhappy "because I had dinner with" the president. "You know, because he's Hitler," Maher said. "Except he's not. So unhelpful and dumb."