President Donald Trump has reignited his ongoing clash with Bill Maher by revealing what he describes as the late-night host’s ‘utterly pathetic’ initial words upon entering the Oval Office during their widely noted White House dinner.
In a sharp post on Truth Social published Saturday evening, Trump recounted the moment Maher stepped into the presidential office.
“He appeared anxious, almost frightened, and the first thing he said was, ‘Can I have a drink?’ It was charming in a way, but also quite sad,” Trump remarked.
This striking comment adds a fresh twist to Trump’s ongoing narrative of depicting Maher as timid in private, contrasting with his bold on-camera stance as a vocal critic of the former president.
Trump didn’t leave it at that. He launched into a broader criticism of conservative media, accusing them of unnecessarily boosting Maher’s profile among Republicans.
“I dislike seeing Fox and other Conservative Channels constantly making the low-rated Bill Maher ‘relevant,'” Trump declared, adding a straightforward directive: “STOP USING BILL MAHER AS YOUR SPOKESPERSON!”
The two men famously met for dinner at the White House last year – an encounter arranged by musician Kid Rock that drew backlash from Maher’s liberal audience at the time.
In earlier remarks about that meeting, Trump had already claimed the host appeared ‘extremely nervous’ and lacking confidence, saying Maher quickly asked for a ‘Vodka Tonic’ upon arrival.
Bill Maher was mocked by Trump, who claimed the host appeared ‘nervous’ and asked for a drink upon entering the Oval Office
Donald Trump attempted to portray Maher as weak off-camera despite his tough on-air persona
In a Truth Social post, Trump blasted conservative media for platforming Maher, calling him ‘low rated’ and urging conservative outlets to stop using him as a voice
Maher, for his part, has publicly defended the dinner, arguing the focus should be on what was said afterward rather than the decision to attend.
In a CNN International interview earlier this year, he said: ‘They’re always asking the wrong question, which is: How dare you have dinner with Donald Trump.
‘The question should always have been what did I say after I had dinner with Donald Trump.’
Trump previously addressed last April’s dinner with Maher in February.
In similar comments to Saturday’s Truth Social posting, Trump once again noted how Maher did not have the same gravitas he displays on his late night HBO show.
‘He came into the famed Oval Office much different than I thought he would be. He was extremely nervous, had ZERO confidence in himself and, to soothe his nerves, immediately, within seconds, asked for a “Vodka Tonic,”‘ Trump wrote on Truth Social.
‘He said to me, “I’ve never felt like this before, I’m actually scared.” In one respect, it was somewhat endearing! Anyway, we had a great dinner, it was quick, easy, and he seemed to be a nice guy and, for his first show after our dinner, he was very respectful about our meeting,’ Trump said at the time.
Trump claimed Maher’s show eventually began criticizing his administration once again.
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.
The feud between Donald Trump and Bill Maher stretches back more than a decade, dating to a 2013 legal clash sparked by one of Maher’s on-air jokes. The pair are pictured in 2004
In both Saturday’s Truth Social post by Trump and an earlier outburst in February, the president has said Maher is only slightly more talented than Jimmy Kimmel
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.
‘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!’
Trump’s latest broadside came just a day after Maher hosted Gavin Newsom on Real Time, where the California governor sparred with the comedian over the state’s economic challenges and defended his record.
Trump seized on the appearance, claiming Newsom dominated the exchange while Maher faltered.
‘Bill Maher was defenseless, and totally deficient,’ Trump wrote, accusing the host of either lacking knowledge or ‘chok[ing]’ during the discussion.
The president also used the moment to launch into a familiar critique of California, pointing to homelessness, high costs of living and the state’s long-delayed high-speed rail project as evidence of what he described as decline.
His post even revived personal insults toward Newsom, mocking the governor’s intelligence and leadership while disputing claims about California’s economic performance.
The renewed attack underscores how the Maher-Trump feud – stretching back more than a decade – continues to flare up with unpredictably.
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
The pair first clashed publicly in 2013, when Maher joked he would donate $5 million to charity if Trump proved he was not ‘the son of an orangutan,’ prompting Trump to file, and later drop, a lawsuit.
Since then, Maher has remained a frequent critic of Trump’s presidency on HBO, while Trump has repeatedly dismissed the comedian as a ‘lightweight’ with low ratings.
During Friday night’s show, during one tense exchange Maher took Newsom to task for attempting to imitate Trump.
Newsom has made no secret of his ambitions to run for president in 2028,and part of his efforts to stir up publicity have included sharing Trump-ian insults on social media.
The long-time liberal favorite governor has an entire press office social media feed dedicated to mimicking Trump’s boisterous style.
Maher, a fan of Newsom’s who has suggested he could run for president, challenged him on this approach.
‘Many people would say that you are imitating him. Of all the people who may or may not be running, you’re the one who imitates his style with the trolling,’ Maher said.
He also pointed out that Newsom is now suing Fox News for libel, and Newsom responded by bragging about it.
‘Fox better look to settle right now or apologize for defamation,’ he said.
Alarmed, Maher fired back: ‘Okay, but that sounds exactly what he does! Suing media?’
‘Well then don’t defame, don’t lie,’ Newsom replied.
‘Okay, again! But that does sound like him!’ Maher shot back.
Bill Maher took Gavin Newsom to task for attempting to imitate Donald Trump in a tense exchange between the HBO host and the California governor
Maher seemed shocked by Newsom’s willingness to ape Trump’s style
Newsom attempted to explain his style on social media by claiming that he merely wanted to meet the moment.
‘To me that’s the biggest reflection of this moment, is how…the…just the sewer that we are now living in because of Donald Trump. And he’s allowed all of us to feel free to shove again.’
The lawsuit against Fox stems from Newsom’s claims that Trump’s ‘not all there’ during their recent row over anti-ICE protests in downtown Los Angeles, when he said the president mischaracterized details of their June 6, 2025 phone call.
The governor is so adamant his side of the story is true that on Friday he sued
Fox News in a defamation suit asking for $787 million, arguing the right-leaning network misleadingly edited a video to back Trump’s timeline.
