Trump Says Bill Maher ‘Likes Me a Lot More Than People Understand’

President Donald Trump boasted about his dinner guests — and insisted caustic comedian Bill Maher really likes him.

Speaking with reporters Friday as he departed the White House ahead of a rally in Dalton, Georgia, about two hours north of Atlanta, Trump was asked about his meal the night prior.

The president said he dined with frequent rally goer and Trump fan Kid Rock; journalist Stephen A. Smith and Maher, who has gotten flack in the past for dining with the controversial commander in chief.

“The dinner last with Kid rock and Stephen A and Bill Maher was great,” Trump told reporters. “I think they had a good time.”

Trump said the conversation was expansive.

“We talked about everything. It lasted a long time. And even though they have to sort of put on a certain little façade for their people, they like Trump,” he said.

“And I actually liked them,” the president added. “We had a great time. We even took a little tour of the ballroom. We took a — we went inside the ball room with beams that are being put up over our heads. But it was a great dinner. It was very informative dinner. Smart people. Stephen A. Is great,” he said.

“Bill Maher, I tell you what, he likes me a lot more than people understand. And I absolutely like him. It was a good dinner.”

Maher told his audience on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher in April 2025 about a dinner with the president that included Kid Rock and UFC head Dana White.

At the time, he declared Trump was “more self-aware” than it seemed and far less aggressive behind the scenes than when he’s on camera.

“You can hate me for it, but I’m not a liar. Trump was gracious and measured,” Maher said on the program. “And why 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.”

Watch above via C-SPAN.

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