What To Know
- Bill Maher responded to President Trump’s accusation that he uses a “fake laughing machine” on Real Time With Bill Maher.
- Maher addressed Trump’s criticism of his ratings and mocked the president’s own approval numbers.
- The exchange is part of a series of jabs between Maher and Trump.
Bill Maher just sent a direct message to President Donald Trump after the POTUS accused him of having a “fake laughing machine” on Real Time With Bill Maher.
On the Friday, June 5 episode of the late-night CBS show, Maher, 70, took aim at Trump, 79, after the president targeted him in another Truth Social post. Trump slammed both Maher and a former Late Show host in the rant, calling the former “Low Ratings Bill Maher and his Fake ‘Laughing Machine,’” and the latter “REALLY DUMB Stephen Colbert of CBS.”
“I can always tell when the president is in a bad mood because he starts tweeting about me,” Maher pointed out during his opening monologue. “I feel it’s an honor to always be in his tweets, even when they are bad—and they are always bad.”
The stand-up comedian continued, “This week, he said I was ‘low ratings Bill Maher with his fake laughing machine.’ First of all, low ratings? Yours is 35%. And fake laughing machine, can we get a shot of our audience?”
That’s when the shot cut to stock footage of audience members clapping (including a black-and-white clip and a cartoon segment), poking fun at the allegation. Maher then joked, “There, that should settle that.”
Later during Friday’s episode of Real Time — during his “New Rule” segment — Maher brought up Trump’s insult again after making a joke about former President Joe Biden and AI thinking for people. “Fake laughing machine,” he said, following a moment of enthusiastic laughter and clapping from the audience.
The POTUS and Maher have exchanged jabs frequently during this season of Real Time With Bill Maher, particularly regarding their March 2025 dinner at the White House.
Real Time With Bill Maher, Fridays at 10/9c, HBO