The collapse of Bill Maher’s brief truce with Donald Trump was already public. In a new interview, Maher filled in one private detail, recalling a text in which the president told him, “You’re still a lunatic.”
In an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep, Maher discussed the aftermath of his April 2025 White House dinner with Trump, revealing that the president privately complained when Real Time resumed criticizing him.
“There was a time when he would yell at me” by text, Maher said, recalling one message in which Trump told him, “I thought you were better than you used to be. You’re still a lunatic.”
The message came sometime after Maher’s dinner with Trump, which was arranged by Kid Rock. Maher faced criticism afterward for describing the president as gracious and measured in private, while suggesting that the man he met seemed different from Trump’s public persona.
Maher nevertheless continued criticizing Trump on Real Time, something Trump has repeatedly cited while publicly declaring their dinner a waste of time.
In February, Trump complained that Maher’s show had “devolved into the same old story—very boring, ANTI TRUMP,” and called the host a “highly overrated LIGHTWEIGHT.” Trump renewed the attack in May, labeling Maher a “weak and ineffective person” and a “MORON.”
Speaking with NPR, Maher sounded more amused than wounded by the falling out.
“When he insults me, people say, ‘Oh my God, he’s called you this,’” Maher said. “I say, ‘That’s just who he is.’”
Maher also stood by his decision to meet with Trump, dismissing criticism that the dinner elevated the president.
“Oh my God, what is he going to become—president?” Maher joked.
The Real Time host argued that Trump is more self-aware and less belligerent in private, but said the president’s lack of fixed beliefs makes it especially important for people who disagree with him to remain in the conversation.
“He does look you in the eye and listen, and he does change his mind sometimes,” Maher said. “They need more people like me talking to him, not less.”
The NPR interview comes ahead of the release of Maher’s Mark Twain Prize ceremony, which was taped last month at the Trump-controlled Kennedy Center and is set to premiere on Netflix July 21.
I think we could do quite nicely without either one of them.