Bill Maher Brands Trump 'One Of The Most Effective Politicians' Ever After Dinner With The President

Longtime Donald Trump critic Bill Maher has publicly praised the president as "one of the most effective politicians" just days after attending a dinner with him at the White House.

Kid Rock previously shared details of the dinner with the president, predicting that Maher would say "nice things" about him afterward.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump recently sparked criticisms and nationwide protests for initiating tariff plans.

Maher had great things to say about Trump days after having dinner with the number 1 citizen at the White House.

The comedian, an outspoken Trump critic, touted the president as "one of the most effective politicians" on his popular "Club Random" podcast during a conversation with NewsNation journalist Chris Cuomo.

"Trump really … is one of the most effective politicians … whatever you think of the policy and him as a person," Maher said, per the New York Post.

"Just as a politician, just understanding that [you should] always lean into being more who you are," he continued. "The people are not savvy about issues but they smell a phony a mile away and that kind of sh-t, nobody else does it."

Elsewhere on the show, Maher praised Trump's political acumen compared to the Democrats despite being a known critic of his.

"You know, he has those moments that no other politician has. And the Democrats have to find that guy," Maher admitted. "But let's be real — they've been searching for years, and they're still coming up empty."

He went on to narrate how he felt proud of the moment Trump threatened the Taliban leader after former President Joe Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

"When he did that thing where the guy came in from the Taliban and he said, 'This is an aerial picture of your house. If during our withdrawal one American is hurt, just know I know where you live,'" Maher said.

"I was like, 'Oh, can we just play the music now? Because I don't care it's Donald Trump and he's the worst person ever, blah, blah, blah — I f-cking love that!'" he noted.

The "Real Time" host also credited Trump's appeal to regular voters for his relatability.

"One time they were doing something, something was going on and he said, 'You know what? When you come after New York, you gotta go through me.' It's like, oh — hometown boy," he remarked.

Maher's shift in tone comes days after Kid Rock predicted that he would say good things about Trump following the dinner at the White House.

Maher's dinner with the president was arranged by Kid Rock. The musician previously shared his thoughts on what Maher might say about the experience on his HBO show, "Real Time with Bill Maher."

"I think he's going to say nice things about the president," Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, told Sean Hannity last week.

"He's not going to have a MAGA hat on, and he's probably not going to vote Republican anytime," Rock admitted.

Kid Rock also shared that Maher seemed nervous on his first visit to the White House.

He explained that President Trump asked if the comedian would like a drink, to which Maher replied he'd like a margarita before Trump had a staff make it for him.

"We basically stuck to things that we agreed on," Rock said. "They both have extremely deep knowledge of American history, both very smart guys, and you know, very reasonable people, even though they've had this pretty harsh relationship. It was cool."

Kid Rock revealed that they talked about the president's former statement about potentially seeking a third term, adding that Maher raised concerns about it.

"It really freaks out Bill when the president's, when people are talking about a third term, this, that and the other. He brought that up, and … they talked about it a little bit. That was something I would consider private. I feel uncomfortable sharing that. If the president wanted to, he could," he explained.

Despite their different outlooks, Rock explained that Maher and Trump found common ground on issues like "ending wokeness" and "securing the border."

He added that he felt inspired seeing both of them put aside their differences to talk.

"If they can do it, maybe that family member you have that you disagree with that's divided you politically … maybe you can go back and be like, hey man, let's have dinner and talk about what we do have in common," Rock noted.