Bill Maher jokes Pope Francis met JD Vance after a 38-day hospital stay and 'keeled right over'

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Bill Maher opened the Friday, April 25, episode of 'Real Time' by paying tribute to the late Pope Francis while simultaneously roasting Vice President JD Vance and members of Donald Trump’s Cabinet.

The late-night began by reflecting on the pontiff’s death but quickly pivoted to the fact that Vance happened to meet with Pope Francis just hours before his death, The Wrap reported. 

Bill Maher cracks jokes about Pope Francis' death

“He was 88-years-old, had just finished a 38-day stay in the hospital, got a lung infection and pneumonia, met JD for half an hour and keeled right over,” Bill Maher joked, prompting both laughter and groans from the audience.

Pope Francis died on April 21 after suffering a stroke and subsequent heart failure.

“Sad, sad week, the pope died, fentanyl is no joke,” he said. Noting Francis’s background as the first pope from South America, Maher couldn’t resist adding, “So he will rest in repose for eight days at the Vatican and then ICE will come by and ship him to El Salvador.”

Switching gears, the comedian noted that this week also marks an important political milestone — Trump’s 100th day back in office, a traditional benchmark used to gauge a president’s early accomplishments. Maher’s take?

“It’s always a big thing when the president has his first 100 days,” he said. “Time really flies when you’re in the fetal position.”

Bill Maher roasts Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over Signal chat leaks

As Bill Maher dug deeper into Donald Trump’s second administration, he set his sights on the "kooky cabinet members," particularly Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

The former Fox News host found himself in hot water once again for sharing sensitive information, this time via a Signal group chat, just weeks after previously leaking imminent war plans to Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.

“What a scad!” Maher exclaimed, incredulous at Hegseth’s recklessness.

“He was caught sharing top-secret information. Well, he did it again! He shared attack plans with his wife, his brother, his lawyer. Pete says it’s no big deal. The brother and the lawyer can completely be trusted, and the wife doesn’t believe anything he says anyway,” the comedian quipped. 

But he didn’t stop there. Maher mocked Hegseth further over reports that he was installing a makeup room at the Pentagon.

“Pete denies this. He’s says it’s not a makeup room. And this is true, he says it’s just a countertop, a tall director's chair, a mirror, a makeup light, and a pink neon sign that says ‘You go girl!’ Other than that it is not a makeup room. Do not get confused people,” he joked. 

Despite the multiple controversies swirling around Hegseth, Maher noted that Trump seems strangely unfazed.

“Trump’s position is that he’s standing by Pete, and blaming Al Gore for inventing the internet,” the late-night host said, leaving the audience howling with laughter.