Donald Trump launched a lengthy attack on comedian Bill Maher on Truth Social, just days after the president welcomed him to the White House and described their dinner as a positive occasion.
In a post published Sunday night, Trump called Maher a “COMPLETE AND TOTAL LOSER,” while insisting that his own approval ratings remain strong. He also praised Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt for her appearance on Maher’s program, despite accusing the host of asking questions as a “biased, dumb SLEAZEBAG.”
Trump and Maher have maintained a turbulent relationship for years. Trump once sued the comedian after Maher joked that Trump’s father was an orangutan, while Maher was later forced to apologize for an inaccurate claim he made on air in August.
The two men have also made efforts to ease tensions, including a dinner at the White House earlier this month.
Even so, Trump used his Sunday post to describe Maher as a “COMPLETE AND TOTAL LOSER” with a “Low Rated Show” on HBO. He contrasted the program with his own “Top Hit Show,” The Apprentice.
Trump went on to claim that Maher had repeatedly asked him to appear on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher.
Trump launched his attack on Maher in a lengthy Truth Social post Sunday night.
Maher is shown on his HBO program over the weekend.
Trump accuses Maher of dishonesty
“When I became President, I agreed to meet, after the first one, and the last one, but never agreed to do his show, which he wants me to do, DESPERATELY — It won’t happen!” Trump wrote.
“When I have watched the show, which isn’t often, it always ends with dishonesty, about me at least, but, who cares?”
Trump continued: “Using Fake Polls, he also said I had my Lowest Ratings so far, ‘and even the Republican Party doesn’t like him,’ but that’s not true.
“I have High Ratings and, more importantly, he said that I’m losing the support and approval of the Republican Party when, in fact, CNN just came out with a Poll showing that I’m at 98 and 99% support within the Republican Party, an All Time Record High.”
Trump then accused Maher of lying “about everything” and questioned whether viewers still found the comedian funny.
The president also revisited the dinner he hosted earlier this month, which was attended by musician Kid Rock and ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith.
Trump claimed Maher had invited himself to the White House during their first dinner in March 2025 and had later asked to return.
Maher subsequently attended another White House dinner on October 15 with Kid Rock and Stephen A. Smith, an event Trump said he believed had gone well.
“After the first dinner, Bill Maher was friendly, I guess, everyone walked away pleased. He gave me a good first show, with lots of Laughing Machine laughter, which is a real term, but it is what it is, and then reverted back to his former self, and his old ways.”
Trump suggested that Maher may not genuinely believe the views he expresses on television and instead tailors his comments to his audience.
The president’s harsh remarks followed Maher’s response to criticism over the dinner. The comedian said he had genuinely enjoyed the meeting.
Maher and Trump are pictured at the Emmy Awards in September 2004.
Former Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared on Maher’s show, prompting Trump to praise her as “great.”
Trump is pictured with Maher during the comedian’s first visit to the White House.
Maher mocks Trump’s approval ratings
During his opening monologue, Maher claimed: “Trump has the lowest approval rating of any midterm candidate ever.
“Only 1 percent of the Republicans are mentioning him in their ads. It’s gotten really bad.”
Turning to his White House dinner, Maher joked: “There is just something thrilling about being announced when you’re in the White House, when you’re outside the Oval Office, and you hear the aide say, ‘Sir, your 7 o’clock low-ratings dummy is here.’”
He added: “I mean, we talked about a lot of things. The Supreme Court, ICE shootings, abandoning the Afghans who helped us during the war, Hegseth is dragging you down, sir.
“When you say ‘Obama is not a centrist,’ your racism is showing. Please don’t name the ocean after yourself. What else, losing the 2020 election. I was at the Reflecting Pool that day, it looked like [Expletive].”
Later in the episode, Maher interviewed Leavitt, who joked that her successor, Katie Zacharia, had suffered the same fate as contestants on The Apprentice.
Maher replied that he hoped “I’m not next” after his second White House dinner with Trump, adding that he still had “some things I wanna say.”
Leavitt defended Trump during her interview with Maher, which aired Friday.
Inside Washington’s “toughest job”
Leavitt also expressed sympathy for Katie Zacharia, who faced harsh reviews after conducting her first and only White House press briefing.
“It’s a tough job, it’s a very tough job, people say it’s one of the hardest jobs in Washington. I give anyone who steps up to that podium credit because only 37 people in history have been the White House Press Secretary.”
Leavitt ultimately agreed with Trump’s decision to remove Zacharia from the role within a week.
“That pressure in that room is enormous, the press are vicious and I give her credit for standing up there and as the President said, it wasn’t a good fit. That’s okay, I wish her well, we’re onto the next.”
Asked how Trump might respond if Republicans lost the midterm elections, Leavitt said the president had repeatedly defied political predictions.
“He was in the Oval Office not once, but twice and every poll said he would not make it there,” she said.
“So I think he’s working really hard to turn Republicans out to vote, so let’s wait and see before jumping to conclusions,” Leavitt told Maher. She also highlighted Trump’s work with Democratic Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Maher responded that reports suggesting the Trump administration was restricting Starlink access in Ukraine were “unconscionable.”
Maher admits Trump “does listen”
Maher nevertheless acknowledged that Trump “does listen when he’s in that White House. He looks you in the eye, he never interrupts, he never gets mad. He listens.”
After Leavitt’s appearance, Trump praised her as “great” in his post while referring to Maher as a “dumb sleazebag.”
Trump added: “There were so many other falsehoods Bill spewed, but I won’t waste time in FACT CHECKING him. He isn’t worth it.”
Addressing Maher directly, Trump told the comedian not to “call anymore” and called him a coward who was unwilling to acknowledge how well he believed the country was performing. He also accused Democrats of having “almost destroy[ed] the U.S.A.”
“You’re not transformative, you’re a Loser!” Trump wrote. “I never watched your show much, but I will never watch it again, because it is nothing more than FAKE NEWS that America, and the World, is unfortunately subjected to.”
Trump’s post came only days after he told reporters: “The dinner last night with Kid Rock and Stephen A. [Smith] and Bill Maher was great. I think they had a good time. We talked about everything. It lasted a long time.”
Maher previously described Trump as “gracious and measured” during what he characterized as a positive meeting with the president in March 2025.
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