President Donald Trump had an outright meltdown aboard Air Force One that erupted into his longest post on Truth Social and now some new details have become available about the raging president.
The New York Times reported, and the Daily Beast followed on Thursday, that Karoline Leavitt was set to appear on Bill Maher’s HBO show, so it appeared Trump tuned in. Every show begins with Maher’s monologue, then a single guest, then a panel discussion. The feud reignited after the comedian mocked Trump at the opener, and the president was furious.
Trump then dictated his long rant to aide Natalie Harp, who typed it up for him.
The anger stems from Maher’s attempt to get an invite to the White House for a dinner with Trump on Oct. 15. According to Trump, Maher wanted to have him on his show. While they were polite publicly about what happened during the event, the gloves came off once Trump saw Maher attacking him on HBO’s airwaves. The son of one of Trump’s biggest owners is set to acquire HBO and many of its channels.
Trump actually complimented Maher after their meeting. He said Maher liked him more than people understood. Maher defended attending the dinners and argued that critics should engage directly with the president rather than avoid him.
But that apparent détente unraveled when Maher welcomed on the former White House press secretary. Maher joked that Republicans were barely mentioning Trump in campaign advertisements and that billboards outside his rallies now advertised “Lee Greenwood and Friends.” Maher also mocked Trump’s praise of men’s appearances, including Sen Jon Husted (R-Ohio), joking that his own four-hour dinner with Trump had produced no compliments.
Then he cracked, “I could not have been treated better if I was Russian.”
Trump went off with a slew of all-caps insults and allegations that Maher was stoned when he was at the White House, which isn’t likely to be a surprise to anyone who has watched Maher’s show.
“I never watched your show much,” Trump wrote, before promising never to watch again.
The episode certainly complicates Maher’s recent argument that Trump can handle direct criticism. On his Club Random podcast, Maher had encouraged people unhappy with the president’s policies, including the war, to tell him so personally. He suggested Trump needed more engagement from critics, not less.
That’s how the 1,321-word post came about. As Trump melted down on Air Force One,
Ultimately, a friendly dinner and public praise did not prevent Trump from lashing out in anger when Maher resumed the mockery central to his role as a political comedian.