Bill Maher lashes out at Larry David for comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler in 'insulting' essay

Bill Maher's remarks came after Larry David wrote an opinion piece about a man who was invited to dinner 'with the world’s most reviled man, Adolf Hitler'
PUBLISHED APR 25, 2025
Bill Maher (L) lashed out at Larry David (C) for comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler in his recent essay (Screengrab/Piers Morgan Uncensored and Getty Images)
Bill Maher (L) lashed out at Larry David (C) for comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler in his recent essay (Screengrab/Piers Morgan Uncensored and Getty Images)

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM: Bill Maher candidly lashed out at writer Larry David as he compared President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler in his essay.

David wrote in an opinion piece published in the New York Times about a man who was invited to dinner "with the world’s most reviled man, Adolf Hitler" and found that the latter was personable, even though he had earlier disagreed with the dictator. 

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 21: U.S. President Donald Trump gives a child a high-five during the Easter Egg Roll with first lady Melania Trump on the South Lawn of the White House on April 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. The White House is expecting thousands of children and adults to participate in the annual tradition of rolling colored eggs down the White House lawn, a tradition started by President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump gives a child a high-five during the Easter Egg Roll with first lady Melania Trump on the South Lawn of the White House on April 21, 2025, in Washington, DC (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Larry David's inspiration for his essay seemed to be inspired by Maher’s description of his meeting with Trump in March during an episode of 'Real Time with Bill Maher' earlier in April.



 

Bill Maher slams Larry David for comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler

During the Thursday, April 24, episode of 'Piers Morgan Uncensored', Maher said, "This wasn’t my favorite moment in our friendship."

He explained that he didn’t want to get into the drama too deeply and argued that David was wrong for playing the “Hitler” card, Page Six reported.



 

The 69-year-old comedian said, "The minute you play the Hitler card, you’ve lost the argument. Also, I must say, c’mon man, Hitler, Nazis? Nobody has been harder on and more pressing about Donald Trump than me."

"I don’t need to be lectured on who Donald Trump is. Just the fact that I met him in person didn’t change that. And the fact I reported honestly is not a sin either," Maher added.


LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 02: Bill Maher attends a game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on December 02, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Bill Maher attends a game between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on December 2, 2023, in Los Angeles (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Maher continued, "But to use the Hitler thing, first of all, I think it’s kind of insulting to six million dead jews. That should kind of be in its own place in history."

"It’s an argument you kinda lost. It’s not completely logically fair, but Hitler has really kinda gotta stay in his own place. He is the [greatest of all time] of evil, and we’re just going to have to, I think, leave it like that," he added.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - OCTOBER 04:  Larry David speaks onstage during Vanity Fair New Establishment Sum
Larry David speaks onstage during Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on October 4, 2017, in Beverly Hills (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Earlier this week, David wrote in his opinion piece, "Here I was, prepared to meet Hitler, the one I’d seen and heard — the public Hitler."

He continued in his satirical essay, "But this private Hitler was a completely different animal. And oddly enough, this one seemed more authentic, like this was the real Hitler. The whole thing had my head spinning."

"I’m so thankful I came. Although we disagree on many issues, it doesn’t mean that we have to hate each other … I gave him a Nazi salute and walked out into the night," he added.

Bill Maher says Donald Trump’s persona is 'different' in real life

U.S. President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump announced that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, one of the largest manufacturers of semiconductor chips, plans to invest $100 billion in new manufacturing facilities in the United States. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump takes a question from a reporter in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 3, 2025, in Washington, DC (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

In an episode of 'Real Time' on April 11, Bill Maher revealed that he found Donald Trump's persona in real life quite different from what he sees on television.

During the episode, Maher explained how his dinner with the POTUS at the White House on March 31 went. He also shared a printout of a list of insults that Trump had leveled at him over the years, which the President signed with "good humor," according to Fox News.

Maher delivered a lengthy monologue, describing his highly anticipated visit to the White House.



 

He said, "You can hate me for it, but I'm not a liar. Trump was gracious and measured. And why isn't that in other settings — I don't know, and I can't answer, and it's not my place to answer. I'm just telling you what I saw, and I wasn't high."

Maher added, "I have no power. I'm a f**king comedian, and he's the most powerful leader in the world! I'm not the leader of anything, except maybe a contingent of centrist-minded people who think there's got to be a better way of running this country than hating each other every minute."

Maher also mentioned that he was surprised by how Trump laughs, something he had never seen the president do in public.

"Just for starters, he laughs! I've never seen him laugh in public. But he does, including at himself. And it's not fake. Believe me, as a comedian of 40 years, I know a fake laugh when I hear it," Maher added.

MORE STORIES

Appearing on 'Fox & Friends' Tuesday, November 11, the Pennsylvania Democrat said Chuck Schumer 'never' talked to him during the government shutdown
10 hours ago
Trump went off on a rant, claiming California’s infamous bullet train is '3,000 percent' over budget
1 day ago
GOP lawmakers are upset that thousands of federal workers and military personnel went weeks without pay, while members of Congress kept their salaries
1 day ago
Democrats blasted Chuck Schumer for weak leadership and failing to unite the party against the shutdown deal and rising health-care costs
1 day ago
Jeanne Shaheen defended breaking with Democrats to support a bipartisan plan she co-brokered with Angus King and Maggie Hassan to end the shutdown
2 days ago
Eight Senate Democratic Caucus members, including John Fetterman and Catherine Cortez Masto, backed a bipartisan deal to reopen the government
2 days ago
Gavin Newsom is among the top Democrats criticizing the deal, which does not include an extension of the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
2 days ago
'I cannot in good faith support this CR that fails to address the healthcare crisis,' Chuck Schumer said
2 days ago
Bernie Sanders said the healthcare system is broken and warned the Senate vote would worsen it by doubling Affordable Care Act premiums for millions
2 days ago
Bernie Moreno pressed Chuck Schumer for a written plan and income caps, prompting Schumer to say 'we can fix that later' before walking out
3 days ago