As Bill Maher Accepts Twain Prize, Trump Is a Big Topic

Comedian Bill Maher was the guest of honor at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night. But President Trump's presence wasn't far away. Just moments after Maher began to accept the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Matt Friend, a leading impersonator of the president, took to the stage and, in Trump's voice, joked that he would accept the award himself, the AP reports. Trump was a punchline for other comedians and entertainers, including Whitney Cummings, Jay Leno, and Woody Harrelson. Accepting the award, Maher derided extremes in both political parties, rejecting what he called "groupthink."

For the most part, the barbs weren't particularly biting. Cummings, for instance, said that under Trump's influence, the Kennedy Center would host "white Hamilton." And once Friend left the stage, Maher largely steered clear of hitting the president. The commentary was nonetheless notable for unfolding in an iconic performing arts venue that Trump has gone to extraordinary lengths to bend to his favor, leaving its future in the coming years uncertain. The ceremony in the Kennedy Center's Concert Hall wasn't purely political. There were plenty of jokes about Maher's fondness for marijuana, his rejection of organized religion, and his penchant for controversy, including comments he made shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that led to the cancellation of his television show, Politically Incorrect.

But the Kennedy Center legal fight at other points became fodder for jokes at the Twain gala. At one point, Harrelson joked "we fixed that" in a nod to the court order calling for Trump's name to be removed from the building. As he walked the red carpet ahead of the ceremony, Leno said Trump's moves at the Kennedy Center were both "hilarious" and about "vanity." "It's not a war," he said. "It's not people getting killed. It's not antisemitism. It's a silly thing covering a name. I mean what's funnier than that? I mean it's just like, you know it's high school with money."

Given Trump's sway over the Kennedy Center, Maher's selection for the award was notable because the two men have long had a fraught relationship. Before he entered politics, Trump filed a $5 million lawsuit against Maher in 2013 for breach of contract. Appearing on Leno's Tonight Show, Maher said he would give $5 million to the charity of Trump's choice if Trump could prove he was not "the spawn of his mother having sex with an orangutan." Trump claimed that when he provided his birth certificate, Maher did not pay up, prompting the lawsuit. Trump ended up dropping it. The Twain prize ceremony will air on Netflix on July 21.