After a confusing swirl that included “fake news” denials from the White House communications team, Bill Maher offered some clarity about being picked to receive the 27th Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the Kennedy Center.
The veteran host leaned into this week’s big news during Friday night’s episode of Real Time With Bill Maher on HBO Max by addressing it in the opening minutes of his monologue as he recognized there’s been “a lot of back and forth” about whether or not he was actually going to get it. “We have reached a compromise. The compromise is that I am going to get it and then I’m going to give it to [President Donald Trump],” he joked. “Everybody’s happy. I just want things to work out.”
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Looks like they are now after the Kennedy Center confirmed Thursday that Maher would receive the 27th Mark Twain Prize for Humor at a ceremony scheduled for June 28 (and streaming on Netflix at a later date). The honor “recognizes individuals who have had an impact on American society in the same vein as Mark Twain,” and the organization’s vp public relations Roma Daravi praised Maher for “influencing American discourse — one politically incorrect joke at a time.”
The official confirmation came a week after the Atlantic published a report citing multiple sources that Maher had been selected to receive the prize and fielded an offer but the stamp of approval could be complicated due to his history with President Trump, who has oversight of the Kennedy Center. President Trump slammed Maher in February as a “highly overrated LIGHTWEIGHT” in a Truth Social post, which detailed his White House dinner with the comedian that he called “a complete waste of time.”
After the Atlantic published its story, Trump’s communications deputies shot it down. “This is fake news. Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “Literally FAKE NEWS,” White House communications director Steven Cheung added. It’s unclear how it went from “fake news” to being very real when the Kennedy Center confirmed it this week and whether or not Trump gave it his stamp of approval.
Maher addressed the spokesperson denials on Friday night, but added that he just wants to say thank you. And he’s “not looking for a fight” nor is he mad at Trump for the back and forth. “Me and the president, we have a complicated relationship that goes back to the orangutan lawsuit,” Maher quipped, referencing a 2013 lawsuit which found Trump suing Maher for comments he made during an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. Maher challenged Trump to provide a copy of his birth certificate to prove he’s not “spawn of his mother having sex with an orangutan.” Trump later withdrew the suit.
“This has been going on a long time, so him trying to block me from getting it — I respect the move. I respect the move. Keep the game going, baby, OK, I’m all about engagement. Disengagement gets you nothing. You got to engage,” continued Maher, who then turned his attention to the insults Trump has lobbed at him on Truth Social. “We’re back to him calling me a ‘jerk’ and I’m a ‘lightweight ratings loser.’ Get it off your chest, big man, OK, I’m totally fine with that.”
Maher even said he was “proud of these last insults” Trump tossed in his direction, and he added them to a long list that he brought with him to the White House. A split screen then showed an image of a sheet of paper with a White House logo and a long list of insults, many of which Maher read aloud.
“So I would just like to say as a low ratings lightweight and a rather dumb guy and a pathetic, bloated sleaze bag, a dummy, a terrible student, a nervous, failing comedian and someone who was sick, insane, very sad, totally shot in, a crazy maniac, I am honored to accept the Mark Twain Prize. Thank you very much,” he said. “I will be there, Don, and I hope you will be too. I mean, the place is named after you now, you really should show up. You could show up. You could thank me in person for being one of the few people on the lunatic left who’s glad you hit Iran and is hoping we win that one.”
Maher’s newest episode featured a one-on-one interview with U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a former CIA analyst and Pentagon official. His panel hosted CNN’s Laura Coates and ESPN star Stephen A. Smith, who hosts Straight Shooter with Stephen A. and The Stephen A. Smith Show on SiriusXM and YouTube.
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