The comedian says Trump operates on personal relationships and keeps texting him, which apparently means they have something resembling a conversation
Bill Maher just publicly revealed that Trump texts him, and not in a friendly way. The Real Time host told CNN’s Elex Michaelson in an interview that President Trump regularly yells at him via text following their much-publicized March White House dinner. When Michaelson asked if Trump texts him, Maher responded simply: “Yes! Yelling at me!” The specific message? “You’re still part of the lunatic left.” That’s the kind of personal message that tells you everything about how Trump operates he doesn’t forget, he doesn’t move on, and apparently he uses texting as a vehicle for ongoing political scolding.
- The comedian says Trump operates on personal relationships and keeps texting him, which apparently means they have something resembling a conversation
- The timing of this reveal is absolutely chaotic
- Maher’s logic is that the texting actually validates his theory
- This dynamic has been happening for months apparently
The timing of this reveal is absolutely chaotic
Maher’s CNN interview was posted to YouTube on Saturday, only a few hours after Trump absolutely eviscerated Maher on Truth Social, calling him a “highly overrated LIGHTWEIGHT” and describing the entire White House dinner as “a total waste of time.” Trump’s post detailed his version of the dinner, claiming Maher was “extremely nervous,” ordered a vodka tonic immediately, and said “I’m actually scared.” Trump framed this as “somewhat endearing” but then pivoted to criticizing Maher’s subsequent show coverage as boring and anti-Trump. So on one platform, Trump’s calling Maher a jerk and a waste of time. On another, Maher’s telling CNN that Trump regularly texts him. That’s peak 2026 political theater.
What makes this dynamic fascinating is Maher’s perspective on why it matters. The comedian told CNN that Trump “operates everything out of a personal relationship” and that people need to understand Trump is “very different in person.” Maher said liberals got upset with him last year when he reported this, but he’s doubling down on the idea that personal relationships are how Trump actually functions. His three-hour March dinner with Trump and Trump’s meeting with NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani prove this, according to Maher. The point he’s making is that confrontation through personal connection is better than screaming from a distance.
Maher’s logic is that the texting actually validates his theory
“It’s just better. Because then I can say something back and it becomes a conversation,” he said. So Trump yelling at him via text isn’t a negative it’s proof that Trump engages in personal relationships, even contentious ones. That’s a generous interpretation of “Trump texts me angry messages,” but Maher owns it completely. He’s not pretending Trump is being friendly. He’s arguing that Trump’s willingness to engage in ongoing text arguments with a liberal comedian proves something important about how Trump thinks.
The contrast between Trump’s Truth Social rant and Maher’s CNN interview is the real story. Trump wrote pages detailing his grievances with Maher, describing the dinner in detail, listing his accomplishments, and ultimately declaring the whole thing a mistake. Maher, meanwhile, is using the relationship as evidence that Trump operates on personal connection rather than ideology. One is attacking. The other is explaining. One is claiming total victory. The other is claiming ongoing dialogue.
This dynamic has been happening for months apparently
Maher isn’t sharing this because it’s new. He’s sharing it because he’s making a larger point about Trump’s decision-making process. The ongoing text messages aren’t friendly, but they’re engagement. For Maher, that’s the entire thesis: Trump engages through personal relationships, even when they’re combative ones. Whether Trump agrees with that characterization his Truth Social post suggests he absolutely doesn’t is irrelevant. The texts keep coming, which Maher interprets as validation.
It’s a relationship that exists almost entirely in the contradiction: Trump attacking publicly while texting privately, Maher defending the relationship while being attacked in it. That’s not politics. That’s just weird.
