Bill Maher stopped taking 'cheap shots' at Trump after heated WH meet: 'Have enough on my plate'

Bill Maher said since the conversation at the White House, he hadn’t made any jokes about the president’s weight, hair, makeup, or Melania Trump
Bill Maher discusses no longer taking cheap shots at Donald Trump (Club Random/YouTube/Getty Images)
Bill Maher discusses no longer taking cheap shots at Donald Trump (Club Random/YouTube/Getty Images)


LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Comedian Bill Maher invited Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, on his podcast 'Club Random' on Monday, November 24, 2025.

During the episode, he revealed why he stopped taking personal digs at the president, noting that the two went into the merch room at the White House, where Trump yelled at him.

Maher added that he didn’t need to take cheap shots at the president since he had “enough on his plate’ with the policies. 

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 05:  Bill Maher Performs During New York Comedy Festival at The Theater at M
Bill Maher Performs During New York Comedy Festival at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on November 5, 2016 in New York City (Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images)    

'I didn't apologize': Bill Maher on the orangutan joke that Trump sued him for

As Bill Maher detailed his conversation with Donald Trump in the White House, he said that the president yelled at him for the orangutan joke he made on 'The Tonight Show' in January 2013. At the time, Trump had filed a lawsuit against the comic for saying that an orangutan’s fur was the only thing in nature that matched Trump’s hair color.

Recalling the conversation, the comic said that he didn’t apologize to Trump about the same, as it was a satirical response to him demanding Barack Obama’s birth certificate.

“Which I thought was wrong and racist and not cool,” Maher said. 

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on September 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump will travel to Arizona to pay tribute to conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a memorial and return to the White House this evening. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump talks to the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on September 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Bill Maher further told Lara that Trump accepted his perspective, and the comic also admitted to taking “cheap shots” that were unnecessary. He further said he was “bored” with Donald Trump since he had been in the public eye for more than a decade, even before he was a presidential candidate. 

Bill Maher reflects on keeping the peace with Trump

Bill Maher added that since the conversation at the White House, he hadn’t made any jokes about the president’s weight, hair, makeup, or Melania. He stated that he had enough on his plate with the policies and didn’t need to “go there,” and that was how “people bridge.”

“You make a little thing here, I make a little move this way. It doesn’t hurt me, it doesn’t hurt you,” he stated. 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 20: Bill Maher visits The Megyn Kelly Show at the SiriusXM Studios on May 20, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images)
Bill Maher visits The Megyn Kelly Show at the SiriusXM Studios on May 20, 2024 in New York City (Noam Galai/Getty Images)

Maher added that he liked it better this way and recalled when the comic’s writers had given him jokes about the widely discussed bruise on Trump’s hand. He told them to save themselves, asserting that Maher was 70 years old himself, and that could be his hand in the future. He assured that he was not going to make fun of physical deformities because it was fun for “a minute,” and he didn’t need it. 

As he commented on people needing to “give something sometime” on a bigger scale, Lara Trump agreed. However, Maher objected by saying that her side didn’t do it either. Lara stated that her side had also been “really beaten down” in a lot of ways and “unfairly represented” and “attacked” in multiple ways. 

GET BREAKING U.S. NEWS & POLITICAL UPDATES
STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

MORE STORIES

Jeanine John Taele was arrested after agents spotted him filming and monitoring security activities at Trump's golf club before his visit
4 hours ago
President Trump said the families had been disrespected by Democrats and recalled promising to seek justice for their loved ones if reelected
10 hours ago
Exclusive: Witness tells MEAWW how he watched 23-year-old Faith Tenkley make a controlled ocean landing after mechanical failures
14 hours ago
Alex Pretti's mom said she was not surprised that her son appeared to intervene when another person was involved in the confrontation
16 hours ago
Exclusive: Grieving dad Adam Ghekiere told MEAWW about final moments with 15-year-old Landon and 12-year-old Charlotte during Montana massacre
21 hours ago
Donald Trump’s aide was visible in broadcast footage but absent from several official White House clips shared from the Washington race
1 day ago
The defense maintained that psychosis left Lindsay Clancy unable to recognize the wrongfulness of her actions
1 day ago
Charlotte Ghekiere, 12, was among four children killed after Alan Smith allegedly opened fire during a family dinner in Billings
1 day ago
The administration is exploring legal ways to sell the painting that has been labeled "woke" by Trump administration officials and was removed from the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic earlier this month
1 day ago
Secretary of State Marco Rubio's department is coordinating with DHS on the review, which would target B1 and B2 visas issued from 2016 to 2026
1 day ago