Comedian Bill Maher has confirmed that President Trump is actively “yelling at” him via text message after the two men shared a dinner at the White House last year, as reported by The Hill. During a recent interview, Maher was asked if he ever hears from the president after discussing him on his late-night show. Maher quickly responded, “Yes, yelling at me.”
The really interesting part, however, is the specific insult President Trump uses in these private messages. When asked what the president actually writes, Maher revealed the truly bizarre line: “‘You’re still part of the lunatic left, I see.’”
The animosity brewing between the two stems from a dinner they had at the White House back in March 2025. It seems like the meeting started off well enough, but things quickly soured after Maher returned to his show.
President Trump shared his own version of events in a social media post over the weekend
He mentioned that Maher was initially “a nice guy” and had been “very respectful about our meeting” when discussing the dinner afterward. That initial positive review didn’t last long, though. The president then stated that he “noticed” Maher’s program started “to devolve into the same old story — Very boring, ANTI TRUMP.”
President Trump didn’t stop there. He concluded his post by adding that the dinner interaction was “a total waste of time for me to have this jerk at the White House.” It’s clear the president feels betrayed by Maher’s continued criticism, even after extending a dinner invitation. This is quite akin to the President’s relationship with another comedian and late-night show host, Jimmy Kimmel.
Maher, for his part, has certainly not backed down from criticizing the administration. Just earlier this month, the comedian took aim at those in the White House with some harsh language. He had responded to what he called a “rather lame” response from the administration regarding a video that had controversially depicted former President Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. Maher referred to the White House staff as “f—ing hypocrites” over their reaction to the controversial footage.
It’s one thing for politicians to clash publicly, but knowing that the President of the United States is personally sending text messages to a comedian, “yelling” at him and calling him part of the “lunatic left,” just shows how deeply invested he is in these cultural battles. It doesn’t look like this feud is going to cool off anytime soon, especially with Maher’s show continuing to air new episodes.
Published: Feb 17, 2026 11:00 am