Bill Maher says he should be considered 'hero' for confronting Trump in White House amid criticism
WASHINGTON, DC: Bill Maher is pushing back after being criticized by the far left for visiting President Donald Trump at the White House, insisting his critics have it all wrong.
The TV host appeared on the '2 Angry Men' podcast with Harvey Levin and Mark Geragos and explained he took the chance to speak truthfully to the president.
Bill Maher says he 'literally' spoke 'truth to power' during meeting with Donald Trump
Bill Maher described his meeting with Donald Trump as a rare chance to speak candidly.
"I didn't go MAGA, I had the opportunity to talk to Donald Trump and say things to him that maybe he never hears," Maher said on the podcast.
He stressed about "literally" speaking "truth to power." Maher also responded to suggestions that he should avoid similar meetings in the future and reject any honest reactions about the president’s behavior.
Maher had described telling the truth about Trump as charming, jovial, and self-effacing.
"Because apparently that didn't please people," Maher said. "They wanted to hear that he was the same monster that they see in public, and he wasn't," he continued.
Bill Maher says 'I'm not a liar' after calling Donald Trump 'charming' and 'jovial'
Bill Maher pushed back against those criticizing him for saying Donald Trump was "charming, jovial, and even self-effacing" during their meeting, TMZ reported.
"I told you the truth. I'm not going to lie, I'm not a liar, that's the way he was in private. I said it and I'll say it again, that's what I saw," Maher said on the podcast.
He added, "By the way, I don't need to be lectured on who Donald Trump is..."
Bill Maher says 'I should be a hero' for confronting Donald Trump over his Barack Obama comment
Bill Maher said he was proud to have challenged Donald Trump face-to-face, even bringing up the president's long-standing "Orangutan" dig at Maher years ago.
"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're scaring so many of your own citizens,'" Maher said, recalling the moment he directly asked Trump why that didn’t bother him.
"I'm proud that I confronted him when we talked about the orangutan thing, and I didn't apologize," Maher said.
"I said, 'Yeah because you were making, I did that because you were making fun and mocking Obama's birth origins.' And I thought that was low, so I should be a hero for going there and doing those things and saying those things to the president," Maher added.
