Stephen A. Smith Dishes on 4-Hour White House Dinner With Donald Trump, Bill Maher & Kid Rock

Michelle Stein October 18, 2026, 11:06 am

Donald Trump, Stephen A. Smith, Bill Maher — Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images; Paras Griffin/Getty Images; Noam Galai/Getty Images

What To Know

Stephen A. Smith described a four-hour White House dinner with Donald Trump, Bill Maher, and Kid Rock.
Smith clarified that the gathering was not simply a meeting of conservatives and liberals, emphasizing his own independent political stance.
The evening included an extensive tour of the White House, where Smith noted Trump’s omission of Joe Biden’s portrait.

Stephen A. Smith dished on his four-hour White House dinner with President Donald Trump, Bill Maher, and Kid Rock.

On Thursday, October 18, the POTUS, 80, met with the Real Time With Bill Maher host, 70, the sports and political commentator, 59, and the “All Summer Long” singer, 55, to enjoy a meal together and hash out their widely differing views. The dinner, as it turned out, was “respectful.”

“Essentially, it amounted to what I consider to be a very substantive evening,” Smith detailed on Straight Shooter With Stephen A. “We were there for over 4 hours in the White House, and Donald Trump did not run from any questions. He answered every single question. He was very, very defiant with any criticism that came in his direction, any disagreement.”

He added, “But as Kid Rock went on Fox News on Friday morning and articulated, it was a pleasant meeting. It was respectful.”

Still, Smith pointed out that it wasn’t exactly a meeting between two conservatives and two liberals.

“Two Republicans thinking they’re talking to two liberals. I don’t know why Kid Rock said I’m a liberal,” he pointed out. “I don’t consider myself a liberal. I consider myself a conservative. I’m a registered independent. I say that all the time because I don’t trust either side.”

Donald Trump Makes Bold Claim About Bill Maher After 2nd White House Dinner

Additionally, Smith pointed out that the meeting with Trump lasted far longer than he anticipated. What he assumed would be a few-minute tour turned into an elaborate tour of the Oval Office, Rose Garden, the White House West Colonnade, and more.

“He’s got pictures of every single president from George Washington all the way up to him — pictures of every single president on the wall except Joe Biden,” Smith shared. “And instead of Joe Biden’s face and picture on the wall, he’s got a picture of an autopen.”

He continued, “And I sat up there, and I chatted the president. I said, ‘That’s pretty damn cruel, man.’ He says, ‘It’s funny, isn’t it?’ That’s Donald Trump.”

Meanwhile, Trump also reflected on the White House get-together while speaking with reporters on Friday. And in doing so, he made a bold claim about Maher.

“It was a great dinner. It was a very informative dinner,” the POTUS said. “Smart people. Stephen A. is great. Bill Maher, I tell you what, he likes me a lot more than people understand. And I actually like him. It was a good dinner.”

Kid Rock also raved about the get-together during an appearance on Fox & Friends.

“It was epic,” he declared. “And the thing that was the greatest, there’s so many points, I could do an hour on it, is that, you know, two Democrats, two Republicans sit down, break bread, have laughs, talk about, have tough conversations on a lot of the issues.”

As of writing, Maher hasn’t publicly commented on the White House dinner.