Bill Maher Rips on Trump for Accepting $400 Million Plane from Qatari Royal Family

On Real Time on Friday, Bill Maher kicked off his opening monologue by rehashing President Donald Trump’s “big trip” to the Middle East and his cozy relationship with Saudi and Qatari leaders.

“A lot of stuff happened,” Maher said. “He was in Saudi Arabia — boy, they have a bromance going on over there. Well, they do. I mean, bromance diplomacy, I call it. But you know, Trump has a unique bond with the Saudis: They both reshaped the Manhattan skyline.”

The comedian added, “I’m telling you that Trump loves these rich Arab guys. He said he said to Crown Prince MBS [Mohammed bin Salman] over there, he said, ‘I like you too much.’ He did and now Putin isn’t returning his texts.”

Trump has a unique bond with the Saudis; they both reshaped the Manhattan skyline. pic.twitter.com/AJ7PcJnW4b

— Bill Maher (@billmaher) May 17, 2025

Trump did indeed say those words to Prince Mohammed, four years after a U.S. intelligence community report alleged that the crown prince approved the assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, ABC News reports.

“And then — I love this — as Trump is leaving Saudi Arabia, [he] shakes hands with MBS and then they play ‘YMCA’ in a country where you could get the death penalty for being gay,” Maher said on Friday’s show. “I know they say, Village People, that’s not a gay anthem, but people think it is, OK? So to play that while he’s in Saudi Arabia, but you know, that’s Trump and then it was on to Rome to meet the new pope to the tune of [‘WAP’].”

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Lawrence O'Donnell Rips Into 'Stupid' Trump Over Qatari Jet Gift

Maher also discussed Trump visiting Qatar and receiving a $400 million plane as a gift from the country’s royal family. “You know when you travel, you like to leave with a souvenir, right?” the Real Time host said. “So he got a $400 million plane that they gave him. They gave him a $400 million plane, which he accepted.”

And Maher said that Trump’s plan to make the luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet a replacement for Air Force One would be “moot” since, as the BBC reports, experts say the plane likely wouldn’t be ready for official use by the end of his term.

“So it would have to be private, which then it would be illegal,” Maher said. “But you know that it doesn’t matter. Trump says he will not be using it when he leaves office, and people don’t believe that — not the using it part, the leaving office part.”

Real Time With Bill Maher, Fridays, 10/9c, HBO