Bill Maher has responded to Larry David’s recent satire of his meeting with Donald Trump, addressing the comedian’s mocking portrayal and clarifying his stance while suggesting that their friendship might still be salvageable.
Larry David’s Op-Ed Provokes a Response
In a recent op-ed titled “My Dinner with Adolf,” David, 77, humorously critiqued Maher’s recount of his dinner with Trump, Kid Rock, and Dana White.
David made a striking comparison, likening his own meeting with Trump to a hypothetical encounter with Hitler in 1939.
The sharp satire touched a nerve with Maher, leading him to express his disagreement in an interview with Piers Morgan.
Maher was particularly upset by David’s choice to invoke the Holocaust, saying it was an insult to the memory of six million Jewish victims.
He emphasized that, while Trump certainly isn’t immune to criticism, using the Hitler comparison was a step too far.
“That’s an argument you kind of lost just to start it,” Maher noted, adding that references to Hitler should be reserved for the “GOAT of evil.”
Maher Hopes for Reconciliation Despite Disagreements
Despite the tension, Maher indicated that he hoped he and David could mend their friendship.
Acknowledging that the op-ed was “not my favorite moment” in their relationship, Maher expressed that he was open to moving past the conflict.
“I don’t want to make this constantly personal with me and Larry.
We might be friends again, I don’t know,” he said. Maher also pointed out that, like in his approach to Trump, he believes in the importance of engaging with people who hold differing views.
A Positive Meeting with Trump Despite Past Criticism
Reflecting on his meeting with Trump, Maher emphasized that the president was “gracious and measured” in their conversation.
The dinner, which Maher described as organized by Kid Rock, was not a formal diplomatic summit but rather an opportunity to discuss issues from a centrist perspective.
Maher made it clear that his intention was to show that engaging in dialogue is more productive than constantly exchanging insults from afar.
Trump, Maher noted, was far more self-aware and humorous than he had appeared in public.
He recounted a moment when he presented Trump with a list of nearly 60 insults the president had made about him in the past, which Trump signed with good humor.
“I know as I say that, millions of liberal sphincters just tightened,” Maher joked, highlighting the polarizing nature of their meeting.
The Takeaway: A Complex Relationship with Trump
While Maher has long been critical of Trump, he walked away from the meeting with a different perspective, describing Trump as a person who played the role of a “crazy person” in public rather than genuinely embodying it.
Maher admitted that he wished the version of Trump he met would be the one that consistently showed up in public.
Despite their differing views, Maher found the conversation with Trump to be refreshingly open and candid.
In the end, Maher acknowledged that while he and Trump might return to their usual insults, the dinner served as a reminder that it’s possible to engage across political divides, something he believes many in the political establishment, including the Democrats, struggle with.
“I feel it’s emblematic of why the Democrats are so unpopular these days,” Maher said, adding that he could have more open discussions with Trump than with many on the left.