BILL Maher has hit back at an A-list star with an expert takedown on why he decided to sit down for dinner with President Donald Trump in April.
The comedian called out his guest’s hypocrisy in an instant and brought a swift end to their heated debate.
The tiff started when guest Sean Penn questioned the comedian’s decision to meet with Trump in an episode of his podcast Real Time With Bill Maher.
Despite months of hurling insults and criticisms at the president, Maher shocked his audience by grabbing dinner with Trump earlier this year.
After being introduced by their mutual friend Kid Rock, a devoted Trump supporter, he agreed to the meeting and left with a notably more favorable view of the president.
Penn was explaining his reluctance to meet with the president when Maher interrupted, pointing out the inconsistency by saying, “You’ll meet with f*****g Castro and Hugo Chavez but not the President of the United States?”
Penn quickly sidestepped the question, acknowledging that Trump “triggered” him and asserted that a conversation with the president wouldn’t be productive for him.
Meanwhile, Maher hit back that Trump was a “very different guy” behind closed doors and was grateful to have had a one-on-one meeting with him.
The comedian accused Penn of having a “bad attitude” about America’s leader.
“You don’t know that. You don’t know anything,” blasted Maher.
“I’ll tell you this about Donald Trump, and you don’t know it because you don’t go to dinners […] it’s all about personal relationships.”
The comedian then speculated that Trump would likely want to meet Penn if he were ever willing.
Despite their differences, Penn agreed that sitting down with the president was a good decision.
“You’re so smart […] Look, this is the president of the United States, whether we like it or not,” he said.
“There’s a lot of reasons I was speculating that […] it would be good for you to do that.”
PENN’S POLITICS
Penn has met with powerful political players across the globe for filmmaking and activism purposes.
He once tracked down Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in a hideout to try and strike a movie deal.
The actor has also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and is a staunch supporter of the Russian rival amidst the ongoing war.
In November 2022, Penn gave the president one of his Oscars and told him to return it only when his country defeats Russia.
The war has been one of Penn’s biggest sticking points with Trump, who has been outspoken about his intentions to help devise a peace deal.
Penn, who was once married to Madonna, has also stirred controversy for his relationship with former Venezuelan President Chavez.
In 2019, the two had a private meeting where the actor was praised for criticizing President George Bush, the Associated Press reported at the time.
In 2002, Penn took a hard stance against Bush and made a call for an end to the War on Terror.
