Bill Maher says President Trump tried to block the Kennedy Center honors.

After a chaotic whirlwind that included the White House communications team’s rejection of ‘fake news’; Bill Maher On the 27th, we provided a clearer explanation of why we were selected as winners. Mark Twain Award about american humor kennedy center.

The veteran host weighed in on the week’s big news during Friday night’s episode. Live Chat with Bill Maher to HBO Max He mentioned it at the beginning of his monologue, acknowledging that there was “a lot of back and forth” about whether he would actually get it. “We reached a compromise. The compromise is I’ll get it and then I’ll give it to (President Donald Trump),” he joked. “Everyone is happy. I hope things work out well.”

That appears to be after the Kennedy Center confirmed on Thursday that Maher will receive the 27th annual Mark Twain Humor Award (later streaming on Netflix) at a ceremony scheduled for June 28. The honor “recognizes individuals who have influenced American society in the same vein as Mark Twain,” and Roma Daravi, the organization’s vice president of communications, praised Maher “for influencing American discourse.” A politically incorrect joke “All at once.”

Official confirmation came a week later. Atlantic Posted report Citing multiple sources, they said Maher had been selected and offered the award, but that his stamp of approval could be complicated by his history with President Trump, who oversees the Kennedy Center. President Trump called Maher a “very overrated lightweight” on Truth Social in February. mailIt detailed a White House dinner with a comedian that he called “a complete waste of time.”

since Atlantic Trump’s communications agent, publishing his story I shot it down. “This is fake news. Bill Maher will not receive this award,” White House press secretary Caroline Levitt said. White House Communications Director Stephen Chung added, “It’s literally fake news.” When the Kennedy Center confirmed this this week, it’s unclear how this went from ‘fake news’ to actual fact, and whether President Trump approved of it.

Maher addressed the spokesperson’s denial Friday night, but added that he just wanted to say thank you. And he “isn’t looking for a fight” and doesn’t get angry back and forth with Trump. “Me and the president, we have a complicated relationship that goes back to the orangutan lawsuit,” Maher said. 2013 lawsuit Trump found himself suing Maher over comments he made during the appearance. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Maher asked Trump to provide a copy of his birth certificate to prove he was not the offspring of a mother who had sex with an orangutan. Trump later withdrew the lawsuit.

“Because this has been going on for a long time, he tried to stop me from being successful. I respect the movement. I respect the movement. Keep playing the game, baby, I’m all about participation. Separation doesn’t get you anywhere. You have to get involved,” Maher continued, before turning his attention to the insults Trump hurled at him on Truth Social. “We had him call me a ‘fool’ and me a ‘lightweight ratings loser.’ Get it off your chest, big guy, okay, I’m totally fine with that.”

Maher even said he was “proud of this last insult” Trump hurled at him, adding it to his long list of things to take to the White House. A split screen then showed an image of a paper with the White House logo and a long list of insults, many of which Maher read aloud.

“So I’m honored to receive the Mark Twain Award as a low-ranking, light-hearted, somewhat idiotic man and a pathetic, bloated sleigh bag, a jerk, a terrible student, a nervous, failed comedian, and a sick, crazy, very sad, completely shot-down crazy lunatic. Thank you so much,” he said. “I’ll be there, Don. I hope you are too. I mean, the place is named after you now, so you have to show up. You can show up and you can thank me in person for being one of the few people on the crazy left who is happy to attack Iran and wants us to win.”

Maher’s latest episode includes a one-on-one interview with U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a former CIA analyst and Department of Defense official. His panel hosted CNN’s Laura Coates and ESPN star Stephen A. Smith. Straight Shooter by Stephen A. and The Stephen A. Smith Show On SiriusXM and YouTube.