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Comedian Bill Maher and other celebrities took a dig at President Donald Trump as Maher accepted the Mark Twain Award for American Humor over the weekend at the Kennedy Center.
Maher and impressionist artist Matt Friend did a bit in which Friend impersonated Trump, saying, “Why are we giving this lowly lightweight a Mark Twain Award,” the Washington Post reported.
A friend, posing as Trump, insisted that he was more deserving of the award, even breaking into Trump’s dance.
“I know we had our disagreements, but I finally got the medal,” said Maher during the program. “Can you just let me have my moment, give my speech, and then go back to hitting me with all your insults?”
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Mark Twain Award recipient Bill Maher attends the 27th annual Mark Twain Award for American Humor Gala at The Kennedy Center on June 28, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
Whitney Cummings said that in his time the center could celebrate Maher “even though Trump is now the chairman of the board in this place.” He said he was tipped not to appoint the president, but he said he was not afraid.
Workers removed Trump’s name from the front of the Kennedy Center in June after an appeals court rejected a request by the Kennedy Center board to block a judge’s decision to remove Trump’s name.
Actor Woody Harrelson spoke about the name change when he congratulated Maher on “awesomeness at the Trump Kennedy Center.” He then laughed at the slip and said, “No, it’s okay, we fixed it,” the Post reported.
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Bill Maher attends the 27th Annual Mark Twain Award for American Humor gala at The Kennedy Center on June 28, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Shannon Finney/WireImage)
John Mellencamp sang his song “Pink Houses” at the event, and got a little political after singing the line, “working on a high, and vacationing down in the Gulf of Mexico!”
He said, “…whatever we call it these days,” referring to Trump’s renaming of the body of water as the Gulf of America.
Maher and Trump traded barbs last year as the White House initially denied that Maher would be given the Mark Twain award.
Maher said on his “Club Random” podcast in late April that he would accept the award on June 28 “unless Trump does it again, which is absolutely possible.”
“I loved that they tried to block it,” Maher said, referring to reports that the Trump administration tried to block him from receiving the award. “And, of course, I think he really can if he wants to. So, thank you.”
He highly praised this act, apparently saying that he respects hostility as a form of honor.
“I love that, you know, he takes this game seriously. Like, ‘I’m going to stop this guy.’ I respect this step,” said Maher. “But I know that on June 28, it’s going to happen. We’re going to be at the Kennedy Center, and I couldn’t be more thankful, honestly.”
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Maher said at Sunday’s event that he has been nominated for more than 40 Emmys, but has never won.
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“Did I say something?” he asked about the Post’s report. “That’s all I said.”
