New Delhi: US President Donald Trump criticised comedian Bill Maher in a 1,322-word post on Truth Social on Sunday, calling him a “complete, total loser” following Maher’s remarks about their recent White House dinner.
According to Factba.se, which tracks Trump’s social media activity, the post was his longest ever among more than 97,000 posts dating back to 2011.
The outburst followed the 24 October episode of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher’s first show since dining with Trump at the White House on 15 October. In the show, Maher defended dining with the president but also included jokes about him.
Trump had initially described the dinner positively, saying he liked Maher and that the meeting had gone well. However, his assessment changed after the comedian discussed the encounter on his programme.
Maher talks about Trump on the show
Maher defended his decision to meet Trump for a second time during his programme, saying the conversation covered several political issues and that he was glad they had spoken.
He also said Trump had remained calm throughout the meeting, while acknowledging that he himself had interrupted the president.
However, Maher also joked about Trump’s approval ratings.
“Trump has the lowest approval rating of any midterm candidate ever,” he said on the show.
He further joked about the unusually short tenure of White House press secretary Katie Zachariah. He said the four-hour meeting lasted “slightly longer than the press secretary hired last week.”
Also Read: Google draws line at Trump’s bid to rename Atlantic Ocean to ‘American Ocean’
Trump disputes Maher’s account of the dinner
Trump disputed Maher’s account that the dinner lasted approximately four hours, insisting that it lasted two hours or less.
He also accused the comedian of dishonesty, relying on inaccurate opinion polls and using a supposed “laughter machine” to make his jokes appear funnier.
Trump further claimed that Maher had been drunk during the meeting and appeared nervous and insecure.
“Bill was very nervous. He asked for a drink. He was very insecure, and he had a seriously bruised eye and nose area, as though somebody had just beaten him up — But it wasn’t me!” he said in the post.
The president also criticised Maher’s political commentary and his interview with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
In the post, Trump claimed that Maher’s friend and business associate Chuck LaBella, who worked on The Apprentice, had repeatedly contacted him to say that Maher “loves” and respects him and wanted another meeting at the White House.
Trump says he will no longer watch Maher’s show
Trump concluded his post by telling Maher not to contact him again and declaring that he would no longer watch the comedian’s show.
“I never watched your show much, but I will never watch it again, because it is nothing more than FAKE NEWS that America, and the World, is unfortunately subjected to,” Trump wrote.
Maher had not publicly responded to the post at the time of publication.
(Edited by Maryam Hassan)