President Donald Trump has reignited his long-running feud with comedian Bill Maher, launching a scathing attack after Maher’s interview on HBO with California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Posting on Truth Social, Trump accused Maher of appearing “defenseless” and “totally deficient” during the exchange, and also said the segment made Fox News “look weak, stupid, and ineffective” after it discussed the interview on The Big Weekend Show.
The remarks comes amid a broader clash between Trump and late-night figures, including his ongoing feud with Jimmy Kimmel, and follows renewed scrutiny of how political interviews on entertainment platforms shape public perception ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
Newsweek contacted a representative for Maher, and Fox News via email on Sunday for comment.
The Context
As reported by Newsweek, the California governor appeared on HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher on Friday to promote his memoir Young Man in a Hurry: A Memoir of Discovery.
During the interview, Maher likened Newsom’s “trolling” style approach on social media to Trump’s.
He also questioned Newsom on California’s challenges, including housing issues and public perception. Newsom responded at length, defending the state’s performance and pushing back against criticism.
While some viewers saw the exchange as a balanced discussion, Trump characterized it as a one-sided encounter in which Maher failed to challenge Newsom effectively.
What Trump Said About Maher and Newsom
Repeatedly referring to Newsom as “Newscum,” Trump claimed the California governor “took Bill Maher over the coals” during the interview, while attacking both men in a lengthy Truth Social post.
Trump further criticized Newsom’s leadership, pointing to issues such as homelessness, infrastructure costs, the California wildfires, and population changes in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. He argued that these points were not adequately addressed during the interview.
“Bill Maher was defenseless, and totally deficient,” Trump said. “Either he didn’t have the knowledge, or he choked, because Gavin went on and on about how good California is doing, while it’s doing very poorly, having, by far, the worst year it’s ever had where, for the first time in History, more people are leaving than coming. Bill Maher started by saying that California was doing poorly, only to have Newscum speak for an extended period of time, and lie about the facts.”
As previously reported by Newsweek, Maher is a long-running critic of Trump. The highly public feud between them briefly appeared to cool last year after the two shared a private dinner at the White House. Maher later described the meeting as civil and said Trump was more “gracious and measured” in person than his public persona, framing the dinner as an attempt at dialogue rather than reconciliation.
However, this was short-lived. In February, Trump publicly revisited the dinner in a lengthy Truth Social post, calling it a “total waste of time” and describing Maher as “very boring” and a “highly overrated LIGHTWEIGHT.”
In his latest Truth Social post, Trump again referred to the dinner with Maher, claiming the comedian appeared nervous during the visit to the White House. He used the anecdote to reinforce his portrayal of Maher as lacking confidence and authority.
“Bill Maher is a weak and ineffective person who I got to know very well during my dinner with him at the White House,” Trump posted. “He was nervous, scared, and the first words he uttered as he entered the Oval Office were, ‘Can I have a drink?’”’ It was very endearing but, at the same time, absolutely pathetic.”
Trump’s criticism of Maher comes after the comedian appeared to rebuke his own audience, as posted on X, for laughing at the suggestion of Trump being killed at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, saying: “If you’re one of these people who watched that and was disappointed the president wasn’t killed…you’re not a good person or a smart person.”
Why Trump Targeted Fox News
Trump also directly criticized Fox News, writing: “Fox should stop putting this person on. He’s not representing us. You look weak, stupid, and ineffective, and I hate seeing that. DON’T USE BILL MAHER ANY LONGER AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF YOU!”
His comments followed coverage on Fox’s The Big Weekend Show, where panelists discussed Maher’s interview with Newsom and praised him for challenging the governor on issues including California’s rising cost of living and its struggling high-speed rail project, according to The Daily Beast.
Trump also brought ABC host Kimmel into the dispute, amid his ongoing push for the network to fire him following recent comments about the president and his wife, Melania.
“Bill Maher is a MORON, though slightly more talented than Jimmy Kimmel,” Trump wrote.
Neither Maher, Newsom nor Kimmel has responded to the remarks. The comments are expected to fuel further debate across political and media circles.
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