Bill Maher on the Mark Twain Prize, Trump and the progressive left

Bill Maher’s acerbic brand of comedy has earned him a reputation over his decades-long career as an equal opportunity critic willing to grill both sides of the political aisle.

And this year, it earned him the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, an honor presented during a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts annually and named after the 19th century satirist and writer.

“There aren’t a lot of awards for comedy and it’s pretty overlooked like in movies,” Maher said in an interview with ABC News’ “This Week” that aired on Sunday. “But for, for what I do, it’s yes, the award, I think, to get. And again, there’s not many for this particular brand of show business, so I was very grateful.”

Maher is the 27th recipient of the coveted award. Comedic powerhouses like Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Martin, Carol Burnett and Dave Chappelle have won the award.

But this year, when Maher was chosen, President Donald Trump was the chair of the Kennedy Center’s board and the White House had attempted to rename the memorial to add Trump’s name, a move that a federal judge later declared was illegal.

When it was first reported, via sources, that Maher was getting the honor this year, the White House communications team declared that “fake news.”

“What do you think was going on? Because he controlled — he’s the chairman of the Kennedy Center, it was the board that chose you,” “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl asked.

“He was just mad at me because I went to his house for dinner with no guarantee that I would leave — guarantee? It was never in the cards that I was ever going to come over to their — his side,” Maher said. “You know, it’s better to just talk and go through this.”

Maher was referring to a March 2025 dinner he attended at the White House with Trump, organized by mutual friend Kid Rock. After he talked about the experience on his HBO show “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the backlash ensued.

“I reported honestly that it, no, it wasn’t a terrible experience at all. From a guy who has done some terrible things,” Maher said.

After that dinner, Trump continued to attack Maher, whom the president has accused of having so-called “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” which Maher denies.

“I think that some of his attacks on you after the dinner are harsher than the ones that were before the dinner,” Karl said.

“Yes, because now he feels betrayed, which is silly because there was never a deal. It was only set up as, instead of shouting at each other, talk to each other,” Maher said.

Over his decades-long career as a standup comedian and politically incorrect talk show host, Maher earned a reputation as an equal opportunity critic, even as he’s described himself as an “old-school liberal.”

On “This Week,” Maher called out Republicans who still refuse to acknowledge Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election. He did the same when he recently interviewed Vice President JD Vance on his show.

“This stuff that’s going on now, as I said to the vice president, this s— has to stop,” Maher said.

Maher’s take on why Republicans won’t say Biden won the 2020 election: “They can’t because they know he’s watching. They know where their bread is buttered. … he has to do that. Trump is watching.”

But Maher also criticized Democrats as “cowardly,” and decried the rise of the progressive, socialism-embracing left.

“The Democrats don’t come [on my show], and yet they got my vote. It’s just odd, isn’t it?” Maher said. “Democrats are cowardly, they’re cowardly. Their party is being taken over now by, you know, every day I hear about a new very radical.”

While Maher said he both wants and thinks Democrats will win back at least some control in Washington in the midterms, which he said “will still be a referendum on Trump,” he said in 2028, his “vote is in play.”

“2028 is a different story because by then, this wing of the party, this new wing with all the energy … It’s just a level of nutty that I’m so glad that whenever it was I was like no, I’m not going along because this is where it ends,” he said. “I’m not living in communist America.”

“Could you see yourself voting for JD Vance?” Karl asked.

“Yes,” Maher said. “If this is the, the Democratic side, yes.”

Asked about the potential Democratic candidates, Maher joked, “I hope we can have an eight-person presidency next time because I can’t pick between this crop of geniuses.”

“No, there’s some very talented people,” Maher continued. “My problem is, like I told you, the people, a lot of people on the left won’t come [on my show].”

The 2026 Mark Twain Prize ceremony at the Kennedy Center is available to stream on Netflix beginning Tuesday.