Liberals Criticize Bill Maher For Praising Trump As ‘Gracious & Measured’ After White House Dinner

Baila Eve ZismanApril 15, 2025, 2:44 pmNews >

On Friday, Bill Maher praised Donald Trump as “gracious and measured” following his visit to the White House.

Since before Trump’s first term, Maher has been a vocal critic of his policies and administration. However, on a new episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher lovingly detailed his visit with Trump on March 31.

Maher began, “Let me first say that to all the people who treated this like it was some sort of summit meeting, ‘You’re ridiculous.’ Like I was going to sign a treaty or something? I have no power. I’m a f—ing comedian.”

Maher said, “Just for starters: he laughs. I’ve never seen him laugh in public. But he does, including at himself. He’s not fake.”

In 2023, the comedian said, “I’m afraid of Trump on a personal level.”

Maher recalled a specific moment from his visit. “I don’t remember what we were talking about, but it must’ve been something with the 2020 election. Because I know he distinctly used the word ‘lost.’ And I said, ‘Wow, I never thought I’d hear you say that.’ He didn’t get mad. He’s much more self-aware than he lets on in public.”

Many of Maher’s listeners have questioned Maher’s praise of Trump for his self-awareness that the 2020 election was not stolen when Trump has made a relentless effort to publicly promote the baseless conspiracy theory.

Maher maintained that he is still “not MAGA” and that his conversation with Trump involved his own critiques of Trump’s administration. However, he praised Trump for rolling back DEI requirements, stating the initiatives have “gone too far” and that his private conversation with Trump was “emblematic of why the Democrats are so unpopular these days.”

“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 with this guy. He mostly steered the conversation to, ‘What do you think about this?’ I know: your mind is blown. So is mine.

“A crazy person doesn’t live in the White House. A person who plays a crazy person on TV a lot lives there, which I know is f—ed up. It’s just not as f—ed up as I thought it was.”

Maher’s visit has been condemned by many critics, including Keith Olbermann, who posted to X on Saturday. “BTW don’t overanalyze Maher prostituting himself to Trump,” he wrote. “Maher works for the same fascists at Warner who took over and corrupted CNN.”