By Molly Goddard
3:19am PDT, Apr 19, 2025
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Bill Maher thinks he should get more credit for sitting down with
Donald Trump.
During an appearance on the
"2 Angry Men" podcast, the talk show host claimed he should be labeled a "hero" for crossing political lines to visit the president at the White House despite the intense backlash he's received.
Keep reading to find out why Maher isn't fazed by the criticism for speaking with Trump…
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While chatting with the hosts, Bill Maher slammed people's judgment against him for talking with Donald Trump.
"I should be a hero for going there and doing those things and saying those things to the president. I'm not the villain here," the political commentator said before going after Michigan Governor
Gretchen Whitmer's recent appearance in the Oval Office.
"I mean, there's two ways you can do the Oval Office: the way I did it, honestly, or, like Gretchen Whitmer, who held up a bunch of binders in front of her face," Maher continued. "I should be a hero for being one of the people who got inside the inner sanctum and was able to say to this person — who knows how much he ever hears anything that's not coming from the cult — and say those things and stick to my guns."
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Bill Maher claimed he didn't exactly play nice during his chat with Donald Trump.
"I'm not pulling punches, either on my show or when I was with him or after," the comedian explained to
Harvey Levin and
Mark Geragos about his dinner with the right-winger. "I'm proud that I was able to go into the
White House and say to the President of the United States, look him in the eye and say, 'You're scaring people. You know, it doesn't bother you that you're scaring so many of your own citizens?'"
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While Bill Maher did reach across the aisle, the stand-up star made it clear he is not a loyal follower of
The Apprentice star and condemned people who cannot speak to others with political differences.
"I had the opportunity to go to the White House and talk to the president and not give up my principles. It seems like nobody noticed that," Maher said on the podcast. "I didn't go
MAGA. I had the opportunity to talk to Donald Trump and say things to him that maybe he never hears, literally to speak truth to power. I shouldn't take that opportunity?"
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Still, Bill Maher gave Donald Trump a pat on the back for how he treated him over
Bill Clinton and
Barack Obama.
"I never felt I had to walk on eggshells around him," the television personality said during the Friday, April 11, episode of his late-night show about Trump. "And honestly, I voted for Clinton and Obama, but I would never feel comfortable talking to them the way I was able to talk with Donald Trump. That's just how it went down. Make of it what you will. Me? I feel it's emblematic of why the Democrats are so unpopular these days."
