Late-night talk show host Bill Maher said his interview with then-President Barack Obama “wasn’t fun” after meeting with President Donald Trump in the White House.
Earlier this year, Maher hosted Kid Rock on his Club Random podcast, on which the musician urged Maher to be open to an invitation from the president for a meeting. Kid Rock then encouraged Trump to go through with the meeting despite Maher’s criticisms of him. On his most recent episode on Sunday, Maher compared his experience with both presidents.
“Well, Obama, who is my, basically, favorite president, but he was not very helpful, as far as he never did my show when he did every other show. I had to go on the air and beg him on my 60th birthday in his eighth year in office and shame him into it basically,” Maher said. “And he finally did, but you know, it was at the White House, it was in the interview room. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t in front of an audience. I mean it could have been fun and funny if he came and did my show in the studio like he did many other shows.”
Meanwhile, Maher’s meeting with Trump was also not in front of a studio audience but in the White House, where Maher got a tour and saw the Lincoln Bedroom.
“I know liberals. Again, they don’t like the truth, but that’s the truth. It’s like, as far as just feeling free to just speak exactly how I feel, yes, I felt freer to do that with Trump than Obama or Clinton. That’s emblematic of the way the two parties have kind of switched as far as which one has the stick up their a**,” Maher said. “Trump is a kind of — I’m sorry — but in person, he’s definitely the kind of guy you know you just feel like you can say anything and you don’t have to censor it, and I didn’t.”
KID ROCK CONFIRMS ‘PLEASANT’ MEETING BETWEEN TRUMP AND MAHER
Maher’s coverage of Trump has largely remained the same following the meeting. While Maher praised the gathering, he continues to criticize the Trump administration.
HBO renewed Real Time with Bill Maher last year for two seasons, which will last through 2026. Maher’s Club Random is produced by his podcast network, which was established last year in collaboration with Hollywood producers Chris Case and Chuck LaBella. The network also hosts the Sage Steele Show.