Patton Oswalt says Bill Maher tried to ‘placate’ Trump: ‘You can’t do that with him’
WASHINGTON, DC: Comedian Patton Oswalt blasted ‘Real Time’ host Bill Maher for trying to “placate” President Donald Trump, arguing the HBO host wrongly believed he could find middle ground with Trump without eventually becoming a target himself.
Speaking to SiriusXM host Dean Obeidallah, Oswalt said Maher’s approach backfired because “you can’t do that with him,” pointing to Trump’s recent public attacks on the longtime ‘Real Time’ host despite their White House dinner last year.
Patton Oswalt says Bill Maher misjudged Trump
“The reason that Trump is turning on Bill Maher is because Bill tried to, I’m sure with good intentions, placate him, and you can’t do that with him,” Oswalt said while contrasting Maher’s approach with openly anti-Trump late-night hosts like Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert.
“Colbert and Kimmel… Trump hates them, but he hates them because they don’t love him,” Oswalt continued. “He wants them to love him, and then the minute they love him, he has zero respect for them because, deep down, he hates himself.”
Oswalt doubled down on the idea that trying to work with Trump only leads to backlash, saying, “You just have to stick with your guns and just go, ‘Yeah, this guy sucks.’ In the long run, it will pay out.”
He also warned that even people who try to do business with Trump end up paying the price.
“And anyone who does business with Trump, you would just think basic greed would make you want to defy him, because anyone that does business with him, you get destroyed!” Oswalt added.
Trump-Bill Maher feud reignites after dinner
Oswalt’s comments appeared tied to a February blowup in which Donald Trump lashed out at Maher on Truth Social after the comedian continued criticizing him following their dinner at the White House.
Trump reportedly called the dinner a “waste [of] time” and accused Maher of acting nervous during their first meeting before taking shots at his show and ratings.
The clash escalated after Maher mocked Trump over comments suggesting China could eventually make Canada give up hockey as economic ties between the countries deepened.
“He was very mad at me because I didn’t get his joke about how China is gonna make Canada give up hockey,” Maher said at the time.
“You know, I think we’re going to have to workshop that one for a while,” he added. Maher also pushed back after Trump publicly dismissed him, insisting he never agreed to stop criticizing the president.
“[Trump] went off on me and said the dinner we had was a waste of time. Well, I didn’t think it was,” Maher said. “And then I’m a jerk, and I’m at low ratings, lightweight, and all this sh*t. Because I never stopped criticizing him. I never said I would.”
