BS BULLETIN:
- Bill Maher told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that he would “totally” have dinner with President Donald Trump again despite their renewed feud.
- Maher argued that Trump can be influenced by people willing to disagree with him and needs “more people like me talking to him, not less.”
- Then came his theory about Trump’s advisers: “I think he actually doesn’t like the fact that all he has around him are boring ass-kissers.”
Bill Maher and President Donald Trump are back to publicly insulting each other, but Maher says he’d still happily sit down for another dinner with the president.
And he thinks Trump might secretly appreciate the company.
Maher joined CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday for a wide-ranging conversation about Trump, the midterms and the Democratic Party.
Zakaria asked Maher whether he’d accept another invitation to dine with Trump after their much-discussed White House meeting last year — and despite Trump subsequently returning to attacking him.
“Totally, absolutely,” Maher answered.
His reasoning was surprisingly practical.
“Not talking guarantees you nothing,” Maher said.
Maher argued that Trump isn’t as ideologically rigid as his critics sometimes portray him and can be influenced by people around him.
“People do change his mind all the time,” he said.
Maher recalled discussing the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal with Trump during their previous meeting. Trump disagreed with him, Maher said, but was perfectly willing to hear the argument.
That’s when Maher offered an interesting theory about how Trump operates.
According to Maher, Trump doesn’t absorb policy through conventional presidential briefing books nearly as much as he responds to the people talking directly to him.
“Everything is done by, ‘People are saying,’ so, be one of the people saying,” Maher explained.
Then came the line that will probably get considerably more attention around Washington.
“He needs more people like me talking to him, not less,” Maher said. “I think he actually doesn’t like the fact that all he has around him are boring ass-kissers.”
Maher wasn’t finished.
“He’s that guy who wants you to kiss his ass, but then he doesn’t respect you when you do,” he said.
It’s an unusually complicated assessment coming from a man who has spent years attacking Trump and who continues to criticize much of his presidency.
Trump hasn’t exactly been sending Maher Valentine’s cards either.
Maher noted that Trump recently mocked his ratings and said the president had tried to prevent him from receiving the Mark Twain Prize.
Yet Maher also acknowledged something about Trump that many of the president’s most committed opponents still have trouble admitting.
“He’s funny,” Maher said. “You got to give him that.”
MY QUICK TAKE
Maher may have accidentally wandered into one of the oldest truths about Donald Trump.
Trump likes loyalty. But he has also spent decades surrounding himself with strong personalities, arguing with them, testing them and occasionally reversing himself after somebody makes a persuasive case.
Maher and Trump disagree about plenty, but Maher’s instinct that talking to somebody is more useful than ceremonially banishing him from polite society is almost quaintly reasonable by today’s standards.
And there’s a delicious irony here.
After years of warning America that Trump was an aspiring dictator, Maher is now explaining that he’d gladly have dinner with him again because Trump listens, can change his mind and probably needs more people around who disagree with him.
Careful, Bill.
Keep this up and somebody may accuse you of having a conversation.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- Mediaite — Bill Maher argues Trump doesn’t like being surrounded by “boring ass-kissers”
- CNN — Fareed Zakaria GPS transcript: Interview with Bill Maher
