Bill Maher Says Trump Is 'Cooked' as Republicans Are in 'Serious Trouble' in Midterms — Just Days Before Podcaster's 'Great' Dinner With Prez
Bill Maher continues to speak his mind after dinner with Trump.
Oct. 19 2026, Published 4:40 p.m. ET
Bill Maher thinks Donald Trump is "cooked" and that Republicans are in "serious trouble" in the midterms, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a recent Club Random episode with Michael Douglas, recorded before Maher's second White House dinner, the comic called out the president.
Bill Maher Claims Republicans Are 'Cooked'
Maher and Michael Douglas agreed that the Republicans are in trouble in November.
Maher told Douglas that he does not expect the midterms to go well for Republicans or for Trump.
"I think he's cooked," he said. He also called Trump "a maniac who does fascist things and pals around with dictators and you know, that kind of sh-t," and he listed ICE among his concerns.
He said he and other left-leaning celebrities were "hysterical" about Trump when he first became president, but that "it's been 10 years, let's be honest, our lives are good." He also added that liberals "had good reason to be worried."
Douglas agreed that Republican politicians are in "serious trouble," described Trump as having a "fascist mentality," and said, "Truthfully, I was born in 1944, and this is the worst time I can remember in my lifetime. Not just the states, but worldwide."
Trump and Bill Maher Squash Beef
Maher's episode was recorded prior to the dinner with Trump.
The dinner with the president was on Thursday, October 15, at the White House.
The Club Random episode was recorded with Douglas before that dinner and released Monday, October 19, making it Maher's first podcast posted after the meal.
Maher had announced the dinner on an earlier episode, saying Trump texted him out of the blue and promised he would not say bad things about him the way he had after the first dinner.
The comedian said he texted back that Trump was the president and could say whatever he wanted, and that he was glad they were talking.
Stephen A. Smith and Kid Rock Also Attend Dinner
Stephen A. Smith and Kid Rock also attended the dinner with Maher and Trump.
Trump hosted Maher, Kid Rock and Stephen A. Smith for a dinner that ran about four hours.
Smith claimed Trump and Maher "were going at it for hours," and that the HBO star did most of the talking. Maher raised the fate of Afghan translators who needed rescue and Trump's attitude about the economy.
The ESPN notable revealed he spoke with Trump about the war in Iran, cuts to federal jobs, and the effect of the administration's anti-DEI push on donations to historically Black colleges and universities.
Kid Rock left at 11 p.m. and said, "I'm on like beer seven, and I'm having a blast."
Dinner Won't Solve Everything
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Trump and Maher also had dinner in 2025.
The meal was Maher's second White House dinner with Trump, and the first, in 2025, was brokered by Kid Rock, a mutual friend, after the two men had been public foes for more than a decade.
UFC CEO Dana White also attended that dinner, and Kid Rock told Fox Business the next day that the meal was cordial.
Maher devoted a monologue on Real Time to the dinner, said he printed out nearly 60 insults Trump had used against him, and asked, "Why can't we get the guy I met to be the public guy?"
He has said he found it hilarious that Trump thought he would "go MAGA" after that first dinner, and he returned to criticizing Trump on his shows afterward.
