Former President Donald Trump recently expressed regret over a dinner meeting with comedian Bill Maher at the White House last year, criticizing Maher for appearing anxious during their encounter.

Trump’s remarks came in response to Maher’s claim that he remains critical of the former president despite their meeting, maintaining his usual satirical tone on his HBO program, ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’.

According to Trump, Maher didn’t exhibit the usual boldness seen on his television show during their Oval Office discussion.

“When he entered the renowned Oval Office, he was quite unlike his TV persona. He seemed very nervous, lacking any self-assurance, and quickly requested a ‘Vodka Tonic’ to calm his nerves,” Trump recounted on Truth Social.

Trump added, “He admitted, ‘I’ve never felt like this before, I’m actually scared.’ It was somewhat endearing, in a way! Nonetheless, we enjoyed a pleasant dinner, which was brief and relaxed. He came across as a nice guy, and in his first episode after our meeting, he spoke about it with respect.”

However, Trump noted that Maher’s show eventually resumed its critical stance towards his presidency.

He slammed Maher for not giving him credit for ‘the PERFECT border’, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching 50,000 points, historically low crime and his strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, among other things. 

Trump also pointed to the operations he ordered during his first administration that killed Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Bill Maher is pictured in April at a dinner table in the White House with President Donald Trump, Kid Rock and UFC owner Dana White

‘In any event, it was a total waste of time for me to have this jerk at the White House,’ Trump wrote. ‘Fortunately, his Television Ratings are so low that nobody will learn about his various Fake News statements about me. He is no different than Kimmel, Fallon, or Colbert but, I must admit, slightly more talented!’

He continued: ‘Anyway, Bill Maher is a highly overrated LIGHTWEIGHT, and Republicans should stop using him to show how the Left is coming over our way — Our Base, the Greatest of All Time, laughs at your weakness when you do it!’

‘Bill continues to suffer from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS!), and there is nothing that will ever be done to cure him of this very serious disease,’ he concluded. 

The April dinner was organized by singer Kid Rock and at the time, Maher took a lot of heat for meeting with the president.

Maher once again defended his decision to do so in a recent interview with Elex Michaelson that aired on CNN International.

‘They’re always asking the wrong question, which is: How dare you have dinner with Donald Trump,’ Maher said. ‘The question should always have been what did I say after I had dinner with Donald Trump.’

The rift between the two men began in January 2013, when Maher joked that he’d give $5 million to charity if Trump could prove he was not the son of an orangutan.

Trump sued him over this, seeking the $5 million, but he withdrew the complaint eight weeks after it was filed.

Trump sued Maher back in January 2013 for a joke the comedian made about his resemblance to an orangutan. Trump dropped the lawsuit

Maher continues to criticize Trump as president, more recently sharing his disapproval over Trump reposting a video that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes

More recently, Maher hit back at Trump for sharing the video that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes.

‘The defense, I thought, from the administration, was rather lame. They said he did not mean to hit “share.” He meant to hit “like,”‘ Maher joked in his February 6 monologue.

In his most recent show on Friday, Maher had on MS Now host Stephanie Ruhle and Trump’s former national security advisor, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, both of whom ripped into Trump.

Ruhle brought up the fact that a member of the United Arab Emirates royal family donated $500 million to World Liberty Financial, a cryptocurrency business that the Trump family launched in October 2024.

Months later, Trump, as president, approved the sale of 500,000 Nvidia AI chips to the UAE, even though experts believe this will allow China to eventually access the technology.

‘There’s that pattern again,’ Maher said. 

The White House has defended Trump by pointing out that he does not run World Liberty Financial and that the chip deal will lead to the Emiratis investing $1.4 trillion in the US over the next 10 years.