THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?
SPARE ME THE BS. I’ve got things to do.
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Bill Maher revealed on Monday’s Club Random podcast that President Donald Trump invited him back to the White House for another private dinner, despite publicly insulting the comedian after their first meeting.
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Maher took aim at Larry David, who mocked his first Trump dinner in a satirical New York Times essay comparing the encounter to dining with Adolf Hitler. Maher dismissed the criticism as political purism.
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Mediaite columnist Michael Luciano blasted Maher as a “willing dupe,” arguing that Trump’s friendliness in private should not overshadow his public conduct. Maher maintains that talking directly with political opponents is worthwhile.
MORE TO IT. I’ve got time.
Bill Maher is heading back to the White House for another dinner with President Donald Trump, and the HBO comedian is once again finding himself in the middle of a political argument over whether talking to the president amounts to giving him a pass.
Maher revealed the invitation during Monday’s episode of his Club Random podcast, where he was joined by Hollywood super-agent Ari Emanuel.
“And I’m going to have dinner with him again next week,” Maher announced.
The timing of the recording was unclear, so the precise date of the planned dinner has not been independently confirmed.
The invitation comes roughly a year and a half after Maher’s first White House dinner with Trump, an encounter arranged through their mutual friend Kid Rock that also included UFC president Dana White.
Maher subsequently described Trump as surprisingly personable during their private meeting, even though the comedian has frequently criticized his policies and public behavior.
“Trump was gracious and measured,” Maher told his Real Time audience after that first dinner.
But the cordial atmosphere didn’t last long once the two returned to their respective public platforms.
Trump resumed attacking Maher, mocking his television ratings and criticizing his interview with California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Maher also said Trump attempted to interfere with his selection for the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
None of that, apparently, has discouraged another meeting.
Maher told Emanuel that Trump unexpectedly reached out with a new invitation and even promised to be nicer this time.
According to Maher, Trump acknowledged his previous insults and told him he would refrain from repeating them.
Maher said he wasn’t particularly concerned.
He compared Trump’s habit of insulting people to comedian Don Rickles calling someone a “hockey puck,” suggesting that the president’s verbal attacks were simply part of his personality.
But the renewed dinner plans weren’t the only source of controversy.
Maher also revisited his feud with Curb Your Enthusiasm creator Larry David, who responded to the first Trump dinner with a satirical New York Times essay titled “My Dinner With Adolf.”
David’s fictional account described a surprisingly pleasant private encounter with Adolf Hitler, using the absurd scenario to ridicule the idea that a political leader’s personal charm should outweigh concerns about his public actions.
Maher was unimpressed.
“That’s what I hate about the ‘purist left’ – purity, it’s the easiest thing to be,” he said.
He also criticized the decision to invoke Hitler in the argument.
“And by the way, you know you’re not a political sophisticate when you immediately go to the Hitler card.”
Maher pointed to an irony involving Emanuel, who represents David and has also spoken directly with Trump.
The comedian questioned why David objected so strongly to his dinner with the president while his own agent maintained contact with him.
Emanuel, who previously represented Trump during his Apprentice years, acknowledged that he still speaks with the president. He explained that those conversations are part of getting things accomplished.
Maher argued that critics who refuse opportunities to speak privately with a president are making a mistake.
He said he believes Trump would benefit from hearing more dissenting perspectives rather than fewer.
“I keep telling people, ‘He needs more people like us, not less,’” Maher said.
That argument drew a sharply different response from Mediaite columnist Michael Luciano.
In an opinion piece published Monday, Luciano accused Maher of allowing Trump’s personal friendliness to cloud his judgment about the president’s political conduct.
Luciano argued that David’s satire was not primarily about comparing Trump to Hitler but about exposing what he regarded as Maher’s willingness to overlook troubling behavior after a pleasant personal encounter.
The columnist also rejected Maher’s comparison of Trump to Don Rickles, arguing that the responsibilities of a president cannot be equated with those of an insult comedian.
Maher, however, has repeatedly insisted that meeting with Trump does not mean endorsing his policies or abandoning his criticism.
He made that distinction after the first dinner, telling viewers that the real question was whether he had changed his political commentary afterward.
He maintained that he had not.
Now, despite the public insults, criticism from fellow entertainers, and another round of political controversy, Maher is preparing to return to the White House.
PROVE IT. I don’t trust anybody.
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Mediaite — Bill Maher Is Dining With Trump Again Because He’s a Willing Dupe — Michael Luciano’s October 12 opinion column.
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Mediaite — Bill Maher Reveals Trump Invited Him for Second White House Dinner — Reporting on Maher’s podcast conversation with Ari Emanuel.
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Fox News — Bill Maher reveals he’s having dinner with Trump again — Additional quotations and background.
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Mediaite — Maher previously said he wanted another Trump dinner — November 2025 reporting.
