Comedian Bill Maher said Sunday he would rather be insulted than ignored by President Donald Trump. The “Real Time” host shared his thoughts on their dynamic before receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center, an event streaming on Netflix July 21.
Maher on Trump's Insults
“You know, the last 4 or 5 times he’s been public about me, it’s all back to yelling and screaming,” Maher told CNN on the red carpet. “I’m this, I’m terrible, I’m a lunatic liberal, I’m a lunatic, I’m a lightweight, I’m a jerk. So we’re back to that. It’s OK. I would rather be still talking than the politics of ‘You don’t even exist; you’re too deplorable even to acknowledge.’”
“I’d rather be fighting and yelling,” Maher continued. “And that’s just his way of talking to people. You know, you just gotta have to accept it. I’d rather the channels be open, and anything is better than channels just being shut off.”
Recent Comments and Backlash
Maher recently may have re-ingratiated himself with Trump by saying his political support was up for grabs after the election of progressive candidates in New York. “If this is where the Democratic Party is going, with the democratic socialists. This obsession with Israel, the Jew hating, with, they don’t believe in capitalism, no prisons. If this is where they’re going, my vote is in play,” Maher said.
But the comic has dumped on Trump and allies often enough to have the president recently calling him a “MORON.” Back in March the White House called reports of Maher receiving the Mark Twain Prize “fake news.” The comedian said the administration even tried to block him from being honored.
