Bill Maher reveals he's having dinner with Trump again, says he was 'really nice' by text
Liberal comedian Bill Maher revealed on Monday that he's having dinner with President Donald Trump again.
"I'm having dinner with him again next week," Maher told famed Hollywood agent and executive Ari Emanuel during a conversation on Maher's "Club Random" podcast.
"After the first dinner, I went back to doing what I do... But then, like, he just, out of the blue, let's have dinner again. And I was like, great. And he was really nice," Maher said. "Like, I promise I won't say bad things about you like I did the last time.' And I texted back, and I said, 'You know what, you're the president of the United States. Say whatever the f--- you want. I'm just glad we're talking.' It's like being called a 'hockey puck' by Don Rickles. It's just what he does. It's how he talks."
Both Maher and Emanuel agreed it's better to talk with those they disagree with than not. Emanuel, who previously represented Trump when he hosted "The Apprentice," told Maher he had spoken with the president on that Monday.
"It blows my mind that there are people in this world and lots of them on the far left who just would turn this opportunity down, a private dinner in the White House with the president, just a few people, say whatever you want," Maher said. "I've heard people say, 'Well, I don't like the war.' Tell him! You can tell them, and I will."
Maher took swipes at Emanuel's client Larry David, who previously lambasted the HBO host for his White House dinner last year, while ignoring his agent's relationship with Trump.
"It's so interesting to me that Larry David, like, I'm the devil because I talk to him, but his own agent just talked to him on Monday," Maher laughed as Emanuel attempted to avoid weighing in. "You must recognize the hypocrisy there. Somehow, when it's his own agent doing the exact same thing, this is, then we don't play the Hitler card."
The podcast episode was released Monday but it is unclear whether the dinner has already happened. Neither the White House nor Maher's representatives responded to requests for comment.
Maher and Trump had been public foes for more than a decade until their mutual friend Kid Rock brokered a meeting between the two of them, which resulted in a dinner at the White House. He said during a monologue that Trump was more gracious and good-humored than he expected.
He also credited Trump for being "much more self-aware than he lets on in public," revealing the subject of the 2020 election came up during his tour of the White House and that he "didn't get mad" about how Maher brought up Trump's rare admission that he had lost.
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"Look, I get it. It doesn't matter who he is at a private dinner with a comedian. It matters who he is on the world stage. I'm just taking as a positive that this person exists. Because everything I've ever not liked about him was, I swear to God, absent at least on this night with this guy," Maher said.
"I never felt I had to walk on eggshells around him," he told his audience. "And honestly, I voted for Clinton and Obama, but I would never feel comfortable talking to them the way I was able to talk with Donald Trump. That's just how it went down. Make of it what you will. Me? I feel it's emblematic of why the Democrats are so unpopular these days."
Their relationship appears to be in decent shape behind the scenes despite the public feuding since the dinner. Earlier this year, Maher received the Mark Twain Prize from the Kennedy Center, which Trump oversees as its chairman, and it's been reported that the White House attempted to block Maher from the award. Trump has also repeatedly attacked Maher's "low ratings" on Truth Social in recent months.