Bill Maher, the HBO host who has traded insults with President Trump for years, has been selected to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, according to The Atlantic, which first reported the news Thursday.
The honor would make Mr. Maher the last recipient of the marquee award before the Kennedy Center shuts down for a two-year renovation in July, at Mr. Trump’s direction. Sources told The Atlantic that Mr. Trump has been supportive of the selection, though an official announcement has not yet been made and Mr. Maher has not confirmed whether he has accepted. The White House declined to comment.
The selection is a striking one, given the long-running friction between the two men. Just last month, Mr. Trump blasted Mr. Maher on Truth Social as a “highly overrated LIGHTWEIGHT,” revisiting a White House dinner the two shared in March 2025 — brokered by mutual friend Kid Rock — and calling the encounter “a total waste of time.” The feud stretches back years: In 2013, Mr. Trump briefly sued Mr. Maher after the comedian joked that his father may have been an orangutan, a riff on Mr. Trump’s earlier demands for President Obama’s birth certificate.
Mr. Maher, 70, has hosted HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” since 2003, following an eight-season run on “Politically Incorrect” on Comedy Central and ABC beginning in 1993. He completed his 13th HBO stand-up special in 2025 before announcing he was stepping away from touring, citing both the intensity of the current political climate and fatigue from decades on the road.
The Mark Twain Prize, awarded annually since 1998 by the Kennedy Center, recognizes comedians whose work has had an impact on American society comparable to that of the 19th-century satirist Samuel Clemens. Past recipients include Dave Chappelle, Jon Stewart, Adam Sandler and Kevin Hart. Last year’s honoree was Conan O’Brien, whose ceremony aired on Netflix.
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