President Donald Trump took a verbal swipe at Bill Maher Saturday, calling the “Real Time” host a “wacko comedian” whose HBO show tells “so many lies.”
“Got to see, by accident, wacko comedian Bill Maher’s show — So many lies,” the POTUS tweeted on Saturday afternoon in a series of tweets defending his recent trip to El Paso, Texas, and plans for a vacation this month.
Maher soon responded in his own tweet, “I’m curious, how do you see a TV show ‘by accident’?”
Trump took issue with a swipe that Maher took Friday night at the president’s trip to an El Paso, Texas, hospital to visit the injured from the mass shooting at a local mall that left 21 dead and dozens injured. “None of the eight patients in the El Paso hospital would agree to meet with Trump, isn’t that something?” Maher said in his monologue. “They were all asked would you like to meet the president, they all said, ‘I’ll Paso.’”
Maher was referring to a report in Thursday’s Washington Post that said “none of the eight victims of the El Paso mass shooting” still hospitalized agreed to meet with the president. A spokesperson for University Medical Center in El Paso told the Post, “This is a very sensitive time in their lives. Some of them said they didn’t want to meet with the president, some of them didn’t want any visitors,” adding that two victims who had already been discharged returned with their families for the meet-and-greet.
But Trump insisted that he “Had really great meetings with numerous patients” — and then quickly rebutted Maher’s reference to an Associated Press report that the president would be leaving for a yearly August vacation to his golf club in New Jersey. Maher asked with a laugh, “Different from working, how?”
Trump rebutted: “Wrong! Long planned fix up of W.H., stay here rather than cause big disruption by going to Manhattan. Working almost all of the time, including evenings. Don’t have to be in W.H. to do that.
“And sooo many other false statements,” he continued. “He is right about one thing, though. I will win again in 2020. Otherwise, he pays 95% in taxes!”
Maher offered a response: “95%? That is a lot! I better keep working!” and then asked Trump to plug the comic’s upcoming appearance at The Mirage in Las Vegas.
The comedian did offer to support the president’s re-election campaign — but only if Trump pulled “a total 180 on the environment.”
OK, sure, let's get right on that – but one other thing Mr. President, as long as we're talking: if you were to do a total 180 on the environment and become the most dogged fighter we've ever had agst climate change, pollution, killing species, etc…I'd vote for you. https://t.co/4iG6E4hZ3H
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) August 11, 2019