Bill Maher Defends Second Trump Dinner and Talks Ballroom, Zacharia Exit With Leavitt

Comedian Bill Maher said on HBO's "Real Time" on Friday that he likes his dinners with President Donald Trump, a week after his second White House dinner with the president on Oct. 15. Sports commentator Stephen A. Smith and musician Kid Rock also attended. Maher's first dinner with Trump was in April 2025. Trump told reporters the evening was great, that the guests seemed to have a good time, that they talked about everything for a long time, and that Maher likes him more than people understand. Beforehand, Maher had told Hollywood executive Ari Emanuel on his "Club Random" podcast that he would dine with Trump again. Later in the Friday episode, Maher interviewed former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, now a Fox News contributor. She said the job is very tough and the press is vicious, credited her successor, Katie Zacharia, for standing at the podium for one briefing, said Trump had called the fit poor, and wished her well. Maher told Leavitt he likes Trump's proposed East Wing ballroom despite Democratic criticism and said America needs one.

Right-leaning Fox News leads with Maher's opening monologue, framing it as a rebuttal to liberal critics of the dinner. It features his blunt, profane defense and Trump's own remarks about the evening, and its excerpt does not mention Leavitt or the ballroom. Alternative outlets The Hill and The A.V. Club lead instead with the Leavitt interview. The Hill stresses Maher's praise of the ballroom despite Democratic criticism, while The A.V. Club, in a wry tone, focuses on Leavitt's new job, Zacharia's exit and Trump's habit of moving on from people. Both accounts agree Maher appeared on Friday's "Real Time" and is friendly toward Trump. Left-leaning outlets had not reported the story when these articles were collected; alternative and right-leaning outlets had, and are focused on the dinner and the Leavitt conversation respectively.