“Speaking of awards, I’m finally getting one,” Maher noted during his comedic address. “There was a lot of back and forth about this. It’s an award given at the Kennedy Center. But, of course, that is now the Trump-Kennedy Center.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He continued: “So, I was going to get it, and then Friday, both his spokespeople came out and said, ‘Fake news! Bill Maher is never getting it.'”<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"Jane](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Untitled-design-2026-03-27T160451.731.jpg?fit=300%2C169&quality=89&ssl=1\")
\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t\tJane Fonda Protests Trump, Warner Bros. Sale and Iran War in Fiery Kennedy Center Speech: 'Stand Tall' | Video<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
However, Maher relayed that he reached a “compromise” with Trump, adding, “And the compromise is that I am getting it and then I’m going give it to him.” Maher, of course, was referencing the many secondhand awards that have been gifted to the president in his second term, including a Nobel Peace Prize and an Olympic medal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I just want things to work out,” Maher quipped. “And I just want to say thank you, okay? I’m not looking for a fight. And I’m not mad that he did this.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Maher went on, he described his relationship with Trump as “complicated,” explaining their beef goes back to the “orangutan” lawsuit \u2014 which the president filed against the late night personality in 2013 for a joke made on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” The pair briefly struck a truce after Maher had dinner with Trump in March 2025. Yet, things took a sour turn in February, when the president said his dinner with the HBO host was a \u201ctotal waste of time.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n “This has been going on a long time,” he continued. “So, him trying to block me from getting it \u2014 I respect the move. Keep the game going, baby.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t