Bill Maher seems to be on good terms with Trumpworld.
The 70-year-old HBO host joined Kid Rock and Stephen A. Smith as President Trump’s White House dinner guests earlier this month, and after the dinner, Trump told reporters that Maher’s criticisms of him on the late-night show were mostly bluster and that he “loves me a lot more than people realize.”
“Yeah, I did it again, bitches,” Maher said of his four-hour dinner with Trump during his opening monologue on “Real Time” on Friday night, adding, “You know what? Fuck it. I love these dinners.”
Maher then managed to bring Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s former press secretary who left office in August, as an interview guest on his “Real Time” show. Maher had previously told Leavitt on his show that his then-press secretary had called Trump out, “Quiet, piggy!” This is an interesting matchup, considering he attacks after defending by shouting. When Bloomberg News asked reporter Catherine Lucey about Jeffrey Epstein on Air Force One. Leavitt twisted the situation by saying, “It’s actually admirable. The president being outspoken and open and honest. It’s actually a good thing,” prompting Maher to jokingly tell Leavitt: “Well, in this case: Shut up, bitch.”
And so Maher invited Leavitt to appear on “Real Time” Friday night; where he mostly treated her with kid gloves and mocked her successor, Katie Zacharia, for only staying on the job for five days.
“The president sends his regards,” Leavitt told Maher. “I told him I was coming to the show and he said, ‘Tell him you love dinner and you know it.'”
“I like that,” Maher admitted, before turning the conversation back to Leavitt. “You were the youngest person to do this job… So what will you do now?”
Leavitt said she left work to care for her two young children, ages 2 and 6 months, and then will start as a Fox News pundit on Nov. 1. There was no statement from Maher about the Trump-Fox News pipeline, instead he offered a silly response about how Trump wants to turn the White House press pool into an actual swimming pool.
Cue Maher: “You know what? That’s the only thing people get mad at me for [about]… I don’t care about any of this. I love the ballroom! America needs a ballroom. This is the United States of America.”
The softball questions and flattery didn’t end there; Maher asked Leavitt about his tendency to be “cynical” and did not ask any follow-up questions when declaring Trump’s war with Iran.
Maher showered Trump with compliments, saying he “gets it,” and Leavitt claimed Trump was “much saner than the last time.” [president]”He’s mentally ill,” Maher replied, “He’s a lot more energetic.”
It’s a reminder that Maher is not a journalist and refuses to challenge conservative guests on his show. He’s happy they’re there.