Bill Maher & ‘Morning Joe’s Ratings Are Slammed by Trump in Wild Rant

President Donald Trump unleashed a wild tirade towards HBO’s Bill Maher and MS NOW’s Joe Scarborough on Monday morning (September 28), blasting the pair for having “low-rated” shows.

“Bill Maher’s ratings are so low that it is hard to believe his show can continue,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “In many ways it’s SAD because, in actuality, I like him. Republicans should stop using him as a sounding board, however. It makes them look sooo weak and foolish!”

Maher attended a dinner with Trump at the White House in March 2025 despite years of criticism towards the president. The meeting drew backlash, with some accusing the comedian of sucking up to Trump. Since then, Maher has increased his attacks on the left, though he describes himself as an “old-school liberal.”

Trump then turned his attention to MS NOW’s Morning Joe, writing, “Joe Scarborough’s show has been cut way back, and will soon be ‘dead!’ Too predictable and boring! REALLY BAD RATINGS, just like the rest of MSNOW (MSDNC!).”

Despite Trump’s prognosis, Morning Joe is actually up in the ratings year over year. In August, the show averaged 733,000 total viewers, per Nielsen, up 27 percent on the same period last year. It’s also the highest-rated morning show in the Washington, D.C. market.

Meanwhile, Maher’s Real Time ratings remain relatively flat with last year. The show’s 2026 average for live viewers is around 491,000, not far from the regular 2025 average of 509,000 to 539,000 viewers.

Scarborough and his cohosts fired back at Trump on Monday’s edition of Morning Joe. As footage of the White House played on screen, Jonathan Lemire quipped, “There’s the flickering light of ‘MSDNC’ on through his window.” Lemire also said Trump might not like Scarborough’s Monty Python riffs.

“Exactly,” Scarborough replied, adding, “Number one cable show in the morning in Washington, D.C., Mr. President.”

“You don’t have to watch; you can go to the curvy couch,” Mika Brzezinski joked, referring to rival show Fox & Friends.

“I asked you not to watch. I specifically said, ‘Please Mr. President, don’t watch our show.’ It’s not good for you. It’s not good for America,” Scarborough added. “Just watch channels where they say s**t that you like. You don’t like Eric Idle? I love Eric Idle! Eric Idle is very happy with himself, so maybe [Trump] looks at that and he’s concerned about it.”

He concluded, “Can I ask, is he talking about, like, the show coming to an end? Does that mean I get to sleep in? That would be awesome to get a little sleep!”

You can watch the segment at this link.