Bill Maher Gets Candid About Having Dinner With President Trump Again

Real Time host Bill Maher admitted he would accept another White House dinner invitation from Donald Trump despite the president’s recent insults toward him.  And he’s sure the invite will come because he challenges Trump and is not a “a** kisser.”

Maher spoke with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday (October 4), explaining that he still wants to be part of the “conversation” and therefore would absolutely meet with the president again.

“I’d rather be involved. You know, I’d rather have the conversation going,” Maher said, per Mediaite. “I still want to talk to him.”

“If he if he invited you to dinner, you’d still, you’d go?” Zakaria asked.

“Totally, absolutely,” the Club Random podcast host responded. “Because look, not talking guarantees you nothing. And he is not a guy with a lot of fixed opinions. You know, people do change his mind all the time.”

Maher attended a private dinner with Trump at the White House on March 31, 2025, which led to public backlash. At the time, the comedian described the president as “gracious and measured.” However, Trump turned on the HBO star in early 2026, claiming the dinner was a “total waste of time” and mocking Maher’s “low ratings.”

Trump’s frequent attacks haven’t put Maher off, though. In fact, he believes that the president hates being surrounded by “boring a**-kissers” and prefers people who challenge him.

“The first time I was with him, I tried to tell him that I thought the Obama [Iran] deal should have at least been given a chance, but he was fine talking about it,” Maher stated.

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He added, “[Trump] does not read the briefing books. Everything is done by, ‘People are saying,’ so be one of the people saying. You know, he needs more people like me talking to him, not less. I think he actually doesn’t like the fact that all he has around him are boring a** kissers. He’s that guy who wants you to kiss his a**, but then he doesn’t respect you when you do, you know?”

Maher’s assumptions contrast with Trump’s own comments, including the president’s recent attacks on Fox News hosts for daring to criticize him on air.

Elsewhere in the interview, Maher said Trump’s presidency hasn’t been anywhere near as bad as he thought it would be. “If it really was going to be as bad as I thought it was going to be 10 years ago, he would have shut down The New York Times,” he stated. “The New York Times has never stopped printing everything it ever wanted to say about him.”

“I have never pulled one punch, which is why he got mad at me again,” he continued. “You know, he had on somebody recently… and they mentioned the No Kings Day. And he said, ‘If I was a king, I wouldn’t be talking to you!’ He’s funny. You got to give him that.’

You can watch the segment here and let us know your thoughts below.