Bill Maher says Trump has invited him to a second White House dinner

Right · 2Comedian and HBO host Bill Maher said on Monday 12 October, on his "Club Random" podcast, that he is having dinner with President Donald Trump again "next week". 1 2 Right · 2Maher said he made the remarks in conversation with the agent and producer Ari Emanuel, who previously represented Trump when he hosted "The Apprentice". 2 1 Right · 1According to Maher, the invitation came "out of the blue" after he had gone back to his usual work following the first dinner, and Trump was "really nice" in a text exchange. 1

Right · 2Maher said Trump texted that he promised not to say bad things about Maher as he had before, and that Maher replied that Trump should "say whatever the f--- you want" because he was glad they were talking; Maher likened Trump's insults to being called a "hockey puck" by Don Rickles. 2 1 Right · 1Maher also said it "blows my mind" that people, many of them on the far left, would turn down a private dinner with the president, and urged critics of the war to "tell him". 1 Right · 2He criticised comedian Larry David, who had attacked him over the first dinner, for hypocrisy because David's own agent, Emanuel, had spoken to Trump on Monday; Fox News reported that Emanuel attempted to avoid weighing in. 1 2

Right · 2The first dinner took place last year, after their mutual friend Kid Rock brokered a meeting; Maher afterwards described Trump as gracious and good-humoured and said he never felt he had to walk on eggshells around him. 1 2 Right · 1Fox News noted the relationship has had public strains since: Maher received the Mark Twain Prize from the Kennedy Center, which Trump chairs, amid reports that the White House tried to block it, and Trump has repeatedly attacked Maher's "low ratings" on Truth Social. 1 Right · 1Fox News said it was unclear whether the dinner had already happened, and that neither the White House nor Maher's representatives responded to requests for comment. 1