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Trump savages ‘total loser’ Bill Maher in 1,300 word rant after Karoline Leavitt appearance

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Cite

Scott, O. (2026, October 26). Trump savages ‘total loser’ Bill Maher in 1,300 word rant after Karoline Leavitt appearance. The Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-bill-maher-karoline-leavitt-b3073274.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Independent · collected 2026-10-26 · by Owen Scott

Quick Summary

President Donald Trump released a 1,300-word social media post harshly criticizing comedian Bill Maher following an appearance by former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Maher's show "Real Time." In the post, Trump accused Maher of using a “laughter machine” and claimed that Maher enjoyed their meetings but now acts otherwise because he respects Trump less. Trump also disputed Maher’s claim about the length of their dinner at the White House, stating it lasted two hours or less rather than four as Maher had mentioned on his show.
Written by AI on 2026-10-26, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On October 26, President Donald Trump posted a scathing 1,300-word rant on his social media platform Truth Social, attacking comedian Bill Maher, calling him a "complete and total loser." The tirade followed an appearance by Karoline Leavitt on Maher's show, where she discussed the dinner between Maher, Kid Rock, ESPN host Stephen A. Smith, and Trump at the White House on October 15th. In his post, Trump claimed that Maher looked terrible during their dinner and used a "laugh track" on his show, despite evidence to the contrary.

Maher responded to Trump’s criticism during an episode of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" on Friday night, comparing dining with Trump to dating Taylor Swift. He quipped that while it might be fun at the time, later on, they would criticize you fiercely, referencing Swift's tendency to publicly disparage her exes. Additionally, Maher disputed Trump’s claim that he had "invited himself" to the White House dinner, noting the impossibility of such an occurrence.

The exchange highlights a longstanding contentious relationship between Trump and Maher, with both figures engaging in public sparring over political commentary and personal appearances.

Written for “Trump And Bill Maher Feud” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 6 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Trump And Bill Maher Feud
Politics · 7 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly right and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Independent
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 2 of 23 claims Outlet record 59/100
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 3 of 67 claims Outlet record 66/100
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 41 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events: one is about Maher's response to critics after a dinner with Trump, and the other is about Trump's rant against Maher following an appearance by a former press secretary.”
October 26, 2026 Same event
Letters from an American
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 6 of 56 claims
Los Angeles Times
⚖️ Leans right further left than this Hedges 3 of 52 claims Outlet record 95/100
Daily Mail
Hedges 0 of 35 claims Outlet record 69/100
“Article A describes Karoline Leavitt's appearance on Bill Maher's show, while Article B discusses Trump's reaction to that appearance several days later.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
2 of 24 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
59/100
The Independent's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
7
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-26 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Independent · 3661 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Owen Scott
92 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 If borne out, the predictions would represent a major setback for Donald Trump as he enters the final two years of his presidency.
🔮 Kylie Arellano vanished at the age of 15 in May 2025 from Garden City, Utah.
🔮 Numerous polls have predicted grim outcomes for Republican candidates amid public anger over the soaring cost-of-living and the president’s unpopular war in Iran.
🔮 Robinson went on to share that he would shut off his laptop and stop talking about work whenever he finished for the day and sometimes even left between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. “My family life gives me energy for my work,” he wrote.
🔮 Speaking toThe Los Angeles Times, LAPD Lieutenant Elpidio Orozco said the victim’s name will be confirmed once her family have been notified, adding that the police department’s Multidisciplinary Collision Investigation Team is investigating.
🔮 Days away from the midterm elections, President Trump posted a surreal picture of his face side-by-side with Elvis Presley and claimed he would have won the Vietnam War.
🔮 All nine people onboard the Learjet 60 died when it nose-dived on Sunday and exploded into a fireball near Cresthaven - around nine miles from President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. “We’re descending 8,000 - mayday, mayday,” the pilot radioed in audio obtained by Sky News.
🔮 In her motion, Hutt suggested that the pause would be effective for 45 days but could even be extended for a year.
🔮 “Seeing a passenger jet flying low overhead here would be quite a bad sign!
🔮 Hinton added: “The fact that I couldn’t wake up this morning to my baby, it really tore me up.”
Also by Owen Scott
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 92 articles by Owen Scott →

Topics

ESPN Independent

Subjects

Trump PERSON · 13× Maher PERSON · 9× Bill PERSON · 5× Bill Maher PERSON · 3× Donald Trump PERSON · 1× ESPN ORG · 1× Independent NORP · 1× Karoline Leavitt PERSON · 1× Kid Rock PERSON · 1× Stephen A. Smith PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Trump’s lengthy post followed Friday’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, which featured an appearance by Karoline Leavitt, the first episode of the late-night TV show since the comedian dined with Trump, Kid Rock and ESPN host Stephen A. Smith at the White House on October 15.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-26
🔮 During his show, Maher said that Trump had the “lowest approval rating of any midterm candidate ever,” poked fun at the president’s comments about Senator Jon Husted’s body and asked Leavitt what Trump could be like during the “lame-duck” phase of his presidency.

Claims (24 extracted, 2 hedged)

President Donald Trump has torn into Bill Maher in a 1,300-word social media rant after his former press secretary appeared on the comedian’s show. asserted
secretary → tear → show
The acerbic post saw the president labeling Maher a “COMPLETE AND TOTAL LOSER” and claiming he used a “laughter machine” on his show, despite it having a live audience. asserted
it → see → audience
Trump’s lengthy post followed Friday’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, which featured an appearance by Karoline Leavitt, the first episode of the late-night TV show since the comedian dined with Trump, Kid Rock and ESPN host Stephen A. Smith at the White House on October 15. asserted
comedian → follow → October
During his show, Maher said that Trump had the “lowest approval rating of any midterm candidate ever,” poked fun at the president’s comments about Senator Jon Husted’s body and asked Leavitt what Trump could be like during the “lame-duck” phase of his presidency. uncertain
Trump → say → presidency
Trump’s Sunday night rant saw the president making a slew of claims about Maher, including a suggestion that the comedian had been desperate to dine at the White House after meeting Trump there previously. uncertain
comedian → see → Trump
“No sooner had we had that first dinner at the White House, which is a very seductive and beautiful place, especially now that I have fully renovated and fixed it in the style which it deserves, Bill wanted to come back,” Trump said. asserted
Trump → have → which
“The Gofer called me multiple times, saying how much Bill loves me, that he respects me more than anybody, and wants to come back for a second meeting. asserted
he → call → meeting
He went crazy! asserted
He → go → ?
He’s gutless, because he enjoyed every minute,” he wrote. asserted
he → ’ → minute
“Bill: Don’t call anymore,” he added. asserted
he → call → ?
The president also criticized Maher’s show itself, stating that the comedian had used fake polls to suggest that he had been given his “Lowest Ratings so far.” asserted
he → criticize → Ratings
“Bill Maher lied, but he lies about everything, and I believe he lied to me when I asked him, with all the applause and laughter he gets after almost everything he says, about things that aren’t funny or even any good, what Laughter Machine does he use?” he said. asserted
he → lie → Machine
“People can’t think he’s funny.” asserted
he → think → ?
Trump questioned Maher’s characterization of the dinner as being four hours long, something the comedian said as he made a joke about the president’s comments on Husted’s appearance. asserted
he → question → appearance
“It's just a little odd that Trump keeps gushing about men's bodies and how handsome they are, and their jawlines, and their a**es, their physiques,” Maher said on his show. asserted
Maher → keep → show
“I'm a little hurt. asserted
I → hurt → ?
Trump says that the meal lasted two hours or “maybe less.” asserted
meal → say → hours
Initially, Trump seemed to be impressed after the meeting, telling reporters a day later that he and Maher liked each other. asserted
he → seem → other
“Bill Maher, I tell you what, he likes me a lot more than people understand, and I actually like him,” he said. asserted
he → tell → him
Despite his complimentary remark, Trump would later complain in his post about his first dinner with Maher - which would have long preceded him saying that he liked the comedian. asserted
he → complain → comedian
“We had our first meeting, Bill was very nervous,” he claimed. asserted
he → have → meeting
“He asked for a drink. asserted
He → ask → drink
He was very insecure, and he had a seriously bruised eye and nose area, as though somebody had just beaten him up — asserted
somebody → have → him
Maher has yet to respond to Trump’s post. asserted
Maher → have → post
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