Bill Maher hits back at critics after Trump meeting, says it’s not bad he doesn’t ‘hate’ the president

HBO host Bill Maher hit back at his liberal critics on Sunday who’ve continued to attack him for talking about his positive dinner with President Donald Trump last month.

“I told you the truth. That’s all I did. I went there and I told the truth of what happened. And they would prefer that I had lied,” Maher said on his “Club Random” podcast.

“They just don’t feel like this is a real person,” Maher told conservative guest Charlie Kirk of the left’s perception of Trump. “It’s so weird to say that about Donald Trump whom I’ve said a jillion times is a whiny little b—-.”

“But this was about getting past that and maybe seeing that if we met in person, we don’t hate each other as much – and we don’t – and I’m sorry, I’m not going to pretend that’s a bad thing. Even though he’s doing terrible things,” Maher continued.

BILL MAHER DECLARES HIMSELF A ‘HERO’ FOR CONFRONTING TRUMP AT WHITE HOUSE MEETING

The liberal comedian went viral earlier this month for recounting his meeting with Trump at the White House during a monologue on his HBO show, “Real Time.” 

Maher described Trump as “gracious and measured” and suggested the president was a different man in private than he appears on camera.

“I never felt I had to walk on eggshells around him,” Maher told his audience. “And honestly, I voted for Clinton and Obama, but I would never feel comfortable talking to them the way I was able to talk with Donald Trump. That’s just how it went down. Make of it what you will. Me? I feel it’s emblematic of why the Democrats are so unpopular these days.” 

His comments drew the ire of several liberal media figures, including Democratic strategist James Carville, former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann, and comedian Larry David, who accused Maher of kowtowing to Trump.

CARVILLE RIPS ‘SUPREMELY NAIVE’ BILL MAHER FOR MEETING TRUMP AND PRAISING HIS HOSPITALITY

“BTW don’t overanalyze Maher prostituting himself to Trump,” Olbermann wrote on X. “I’ve known Bill since 1978. He was a shameless opportunist with no real principles then and he remains so. This is so he can keep his HBO show.”

On his Sunday show, Maher vowed that he had not wavered in his principles or opposition to the president’s agenda.

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“I have no illusions that my dinner with Donald Trump is going to change the nation. But to the haters, as opposed to what? Not engaging at all?” he asked.

“I didn’t give one inch what I believe, or saying to his face what I believe,” Maher continued. “But I told the truth about how he’s different in private.”