Comedian Bill Maher on Friday mocked President Trump for receiving a golden crown from South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during his trip to Asia.
“He was in South Korea and the president there gave him a golden crown and Trump was very moved by it,” Maher said on his HBO show “Real Time with Bill Maher.” “He said, I know exactly where I’m going to keep it, on my head.”
Maher talked about Trump’s recent back-and-forth over potentially running for a third term despite constitutional term limits established in the 22nd Amendment. He paraphrased Trump’s remarks and said, “‘Based on what I read, I guess it’s not allowed, but we’ll see what happens.'”
“Well, first of all, I can show you where you can read about it,” Maher said. “It’s like 14 words in this thing called the Constitution. And then the president said, ‘I can’t comment on an ongoing insurrection.'”
Lee presented Trump with the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, South Korea’s highest honor, along with a replica of a historic gold crown. Trump called the medal “a great honor,” and added that he “would like to wear it right now.”
On his flight to South Korea, Trump said the Constitution makes it “pretty clear” he can’t run for a third term, but added that it’s “a very interesting thing. I have the best numbers for any president in many years.”
The dual subjects of “kings” and Trump’s third term remarks stirred protests and pre-2028 election commentary over the past few weeks.
On Oct. 18, millions of Americans took part in “No Kings Day” protests against the president and his administration. Democrats largely supported the peaceful protests while many Republicans derided the marches, as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called them, “hate America” rallies.
For his part, Trump reacted to the protests with an AI-generated video shared across his social media. The video shows Trump, wearing a crown and a flight suit, in the cockpit of a fighter jet before taking to the skies and dumping brown liquid over “No Kings” protesters. Kenny Loggins’s “Danger Zone” plays in the background of the video, a nod to the film “Top Gun.”
After the protests, Trump said in a “Sunday Morning Futures” interview with Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo, “They’re referring to me as a king. I’m not a king.”
Comedian and “The Daily Show” host Jon Stewart called Trump’s behavior and praise from Republicans “king-esque.” He later said that for Republicans, “king is a demotion. He’s not a king, he’s a deity sent by God to bring peace to all mankind. A Jesus-like figure.”
Last week, Maher blasted Trump’s decision to demolish the East Wing of the White House and build a lavish ballroom as the president’s attempt at “not leaving.”
