President Donald Trump hosted an unexpected celebrity dinner at the White House Thursday night, bringing together a comedian, a prominent sports commentator and a country music star.
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Trump → host → comedian
Speaking with reporters as he departed the White House on Friday, Trump revealed he dined with comedian Bill Maher, sports commentator Stephen A. Smith and musician Kid Rock Thursday night, according to C-SPAN.
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he → speak → SPAN
"The dinner last night with Kid Rock and Stephen A. [Smith] and Bill Maher was great," Trump told reporters.
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Trump → tell → reporters
"I think they had a good time."
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they → think → time
The president said that Maher "likes me a lot more than people understand."
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people → say → me
While Trump did not reveal the specific topics discussed at the meal, he suggested that the four men enjoyed their time together despite Maher's frequent criticism of the president.
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men → reveal → president
"We talked about everything.
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We → talk → everything
It lasted a long time."
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It → last → time
he said.
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he → say → ?
The president then went on to praise Kid Rock, Maher and Smith, while also revealing additional details of their evening at the White House.
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president → go → House
"And I actually liked them," he continued.
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he → like → them
"We had a great time.
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We → have → time
We even took a little tour of the ballroom.
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We → take → ballroom
We took a — we went inside the ballroom with beams that are being put up over our heads.
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that → take → heads
Stephen A. is great," he said.
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he → say → ?
Trump also praised Maher, one of his frequent critics.
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Trump → praise → critics
"Bill Maher, I tell you what, he likes me a lot more than people understand," he said.
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he → tell → me
"And I absolutely like him.
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I → like → him
Fox News Digital reached out to Maher for comment.
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Digital → reach → comment
Maher previously made headlines after he attended a White House dinner with Trump, Kid Rock and UFC CEO Dana White in April 2025.
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he → make → April
Afterward, he acknowledged that his previous impressions of the president's demeanor may have been mistaken, telling his audience that Trump was "more self-aware" in private.
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Trump → acknowledge → audience
"You can hate me for it, but I’m not a liar.
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I → hate → it
Trump was gracious and measured," Maher said in 2025.
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Maher → measure → 2025
"And why isn’t that in other settings- I don’t know, and I can’t answer, and it’s not my place to answer.
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it → know → settings-
I’m just telling you what I saw, and I wasn’t high.
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I → tell → what
However, Maher has not held back in his criticism of the president.
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Maher → hold → president
In June, Maher mocked Trump's Iran agreement, saying Trump moved from demands for "unconditional surrender" to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) as the White House defended the framework as a foreign policy win.
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House → mock → win
"We got everything we wanted except for everything we asked for," Maher said on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher."
More recently, Maher predicted a "classic historical a—whooping" for Republicans in the midterms and said, "Trump screwed the pooch."
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Trump → get → pooch
"That’s what happened.
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what → ’ → ?
He got drunk with power."
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He → get → power
Maher's apparent closeness with the president was noted by Axia Public Relations CEO Jason Mudd, who told Fox News Digital the dinner carried both reputational risks and rewards for each attendee.
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dinner → note → attendee
"Bill Maher and other comedians tend to win by joking first and clarifying later.
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Maher → tend → ?
He also has a model.
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He → have → model
It’s the same one he used in April 2025 on ‘Real Time’ after his first White House dinner with President Trump.
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he → ’ → Trump
He reported what he saw, and said it plainly.
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he → report → it
The moment a host sounds like a surrogate, he loses the credibility that makes him worth quoting," Mudd said.
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Mudd → sound → credibility
He added that each guest should have arrived at the dinner with a plan for responding to media questions afterward.
"A dinner this high-profile carries reputation risk and reward for each guest," Mudd said.
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Mudd → add → guest
"I advise anyone invited to a high-profile event to decide what they’ll say about it before, during and after, whether they accept the invitation or not."
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they → advise → invitation
– Fox News' CJ Womack contributed to this report.
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Womack → contribute → report
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