Comedian and talk show host Bill Maher praised President Trump after their late March meeting at the White House, describing him as “gracious and measured.”
Maher, who was critical of Trump even before he launched his 2016 presidential bid, shared during Friday’s episode of “Real Time With Bill Maher” that he brought a piece of paper listing nearly 60 insults Trump hurled at him over the years, ranging from “dummy, sick and really dumb guy” and asked him to sign it.
The talk show host emphasized that he did not turn “MAGA” and “to the President’s credit, there was no pressure to” do so during their March 31 meeting.
“Just for starters, he laughs. I’ve never seen him laugh in public, but he does, including to himself, and it’s not fake, believe me. As a comedian of 40 years, I know a fake laugh when I hear it,” Maher said.
The dinner between Trump and Maher, who have been at odds for years, was arranged by musician Kid Rock, a vocal Trump supporter, who was also present for the meeting.
“I don’t remember what we were talking about, but it must’ve been something with the 2020 election. Because I know he distinctly used the word ‘lost.’ And I said, ‘Wow, I never thought I’d hear you say that.’ He didn’t get mad,” Maher said about the president on Friday. “He’s much more self-aware than he lets on in public.”
“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,” the comedian added. “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.”
During the two-and-half hour meeting, Trump asked Maher about his view of ongoing talks with Iran about Tehran’s accelerating nuclear program.
“But for what it’s worth, I thought the Obama deal was worth letting play out because we made Iran destroy 98 percent of the uranium, and they were 15 years away from a bomb. And then I said to him, but we got rid of that. You got rid of that,” Maher said on Friday. “He didn’t get mad or call me a left-wing lunatic. He took it in. I told him I thought parts of his plan for Gaza were whacky, but that I had supported him in the idea that Gaza could be Dubai instead of hell.”
The longtime comedian said he felt like he did not need to walk on “eggshells” while speaking to Trump, something, in his view, would be unlikely around former Democratic Presidents Obama and Clinton.
“I feel it’s emblematic of why the Democrats are so unpopular these days,” Maher said, later telling his viewers that Trump is different in public compared to his persona in a private setting.
“I went into the mine, and that’s what’s down there. A crazy person doesn’t live in the White House, a person who plays a crazy person on TV a lot lives there, which I know is f—– up. It’s just not as f—– up as I thought it was,” Maher told the audience.
“That’s my report. You can hate me for it, but I’m not a liar. Trump was gracious and measured. And why he isn’t that in other settings, I don’t know, and I can’t answer, and it’s not my place to answer. I’m just telling you what I saw, and I wasn’t high,” he concluded.
