Bill Maher hits back at Larry David over comparing Trump to Hitler
Bill Maher responded to Larry David’s satirical New York Times essay that compared Maher’s dinner with Donald Trump to a meal with Adolf Hitler.
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Almost a year later, President Donald Trump said his dinner with Bill Maher was a poor use of his time.
In a nearly 500-word post on Truth Social on Feb. 14, President Trump slammed the “Real Time with Bill Maher” host as a “hugely overrated lightweight” after they met at the White House early last year.
USA TODAY has reached out to Maher’s representatives for comment.
Maher faced criticism from some liberal viewers after having dinner with President Trump in April 2025, but later said on his HBO show that it was a positive experience. But President Trump wrote on Truth Social that “dealing with this bastard in the White House was a total waste of time.”
Trump’s post appeared to be inspired by the way he addressed Maher’s remarks earlier in the week. In the latest “Real Time” episode on Feb. 13, Maher mockingly read a Feb. 9 Truth Social post in which President Trump discussed a potential trade deal between Canada and China and claimed that China would “end all ice hockey played in Canada and permanently abolish the Stanley Cup.” Maher expressed confusion at Trump’s comments and asked on HBO, “Why is China destroying hockey?”
In a Feb. 14 post on Truth Social, Trump countered that he was not “serious” about his comments about hockey, concluding that Maher is “no different” from other late-night hosts he has frequently attacked, including Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert.
Trump also claimed that Maher was “extremely nervous” and “not at all confident” when they met, adding that they had a “great dinner” and that Maher “seemed like a nice guy,” but that his show afterwards was “very boring” and “anti-Trump.”
Kid Rock, a vocal supporter of President Trump, set up a dinner for Maher and Trump at the White House in 2025. Later, the comedian said on his show that President Trump was much different than he expected, telling viewers that the president is self-aware and has a good sense of humor.
“Look, I get it. I don’t care who he is for a private dinner with a comedian,” Maher said. “Who he is on the world stage is what matters. I’m just positive that this guy exists because everything I didn’t like about him was, I swear to God, at least one night with this guy, even when he’s not there.”
He added, “I never felt like I had to walk on eggshells around him. To be honest, I voted for Clinton and Obama, but I was never comfortable talking to them like I was talking to Donald Trump. That’s just the way it was. Do what you want.”
Maher also defended his decision to meet with Trump in the first place, despite frequently criticizing the president. He said he was part of “a group of centrists who think there’s got to be a better way to run this country than to hate each other every minute.”
Larry David later satirized Maher’s comments in a New York Times article. The Curb Your Enthusiasm star’s essay “Dinner with Adolf,” a fictional work written from the perspective of an Adolf Hitler critic who had dinner with Hitler in 1939 and came away impressed, is a parody of Maher’s monologue about having dinner with Trump.
Maher told Piers Morgan: “I lost the argument the moment I played the ‘Hitler’ card,” adding that David’s essay was “not my favorite moment of our friendship.”
Mr. Maher again discussed the controversy surrounding his dinner with Mr. Trump in November. Speaking about the phenomenon of people cutting off contact with others over political disagreements, Maher blasted “childish” critics who were unhappy “because I had dinner” with the president. “You know, he’s Hitler,” Maher said. “He’s just not like that. He’s really useless and stupid.”
The comedian defended the dinner again in an interview with CNN, saying, “People who stopped watching my show because I had dinner with[President Trump]are idiots.”
