Comedian Bill Maher rejected criticism of his March White House visit organized by Kid Rock and said he shared harsh truths with President Trump in their face-to-face meeting.
During Friday’s episode of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” he compared his one-on-one with the president to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Oval Office appearance, where she raced to cover her face.
“She was in the Oval Office, same place I was a few weeks before. And this is what she did,” Maher said while showcasing a picture of Whitmer holding folders to shield herself from the press.
“Ok, I think there’s a couple of ways to handle the Oval Office. And this is not the way I chose. You don’t want to talk to people? You have no power,” he added.
Maher said he was vocal about his concerns and encouraged others to do the same rather than wait out Trump’s four-year term in silence.
“I mean, people seem to gloss over the fact that I went in there, I didn’t surrender to him,” Maher said.
“I said this, of course, people don’t care. They don’t watch what I actually did. They just react to clickbait,” he continued.
The HBO show host said he told Trump that he lost the 2020 presidential election to former President Biden and expressed that the leader’s new policies were frightening people.
“I went there, and I said to his face, you’re scaring people! Why do you want to scare your own citizens? I said to his face, ‘You ran in three elections, you lost the middle one,’” Maher told viewers.
He added that communication was essential to gaining input with the Republican.
“I’m glad that I was able to go and do that. Got a seat at the table. Because again, what else do you have,” Maher said.
“You have no power. So this idea that, I mean, and he’s gonna be there for another four years, that’s a long time to hold your breath.”
Whitmer has said she regretted trying to hide her face but was caught in the moment.
“Someone asked me what was going through your mind at that moment and it was ‘I don’t want my picture taken.’ That’s all it was,” Whitmer said at an event on Monday.
“I kind of wish I hadn’t put my folder in front of my face but whatever,” she continued. “I just wrote a book about learning to laugh about yourself, so I’m pretty good at it. And we all have our moments.”
