“Real Time” host Bill Maher expressed his thoughts on receiving the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, following a dismissal of the news by White House communications director Steven Cheung as “FAKE NEWS.”
“I just want things to work out, and also I say thank you. I’m not looking for a fight, and I’m not mad that he did this. You know what, me and the president, we have a complicated relationship. Goes back to the orangutan lawsuit,” Maher remarked, referencing a 2013 lawsuit Trump initiated after Maher joked about the president's lineage. “This has been going on a long time, so him trying to block me from getting it, I respect the move.”
Encouraging Trump to “keep the game going, baby,” Maher alluded to a series of insults directed at him in a lengthy TruthSocial post last month.
“I’m all about engagement; disengagement gets you nothing,” Maher stated. “Even though I see that we’re back to him calling me a ‘jerk’ and I’m a ‘lightweight ratings loser.’ Get it off your chest, big man, I’m totally fine with it.”
Maher noted that he has compiled Trump’s latest jabs into a list of derogatory remarks the president has made over the years. He humorously added that Trump signed this list during his visit to the White House last year.
“So I would just like to say as a low ratings lightweight, and a rather dumb guy, and a pathetic bloated sleazebag, a dummy, a terrible student, a nervous failing comedian and someone who is sick, insane, very sad, totally shot and a crazy maniac. I am honored to accept the Mark Twain award. Thank you very much,” Maher concluded.
The Kennedy Center confirmed on Thursday that Maher will indeed be receiving the prestigious award.
