Media firebrand Keith Olbermann has unleashed a scathing rebuke of comedian and HBO/Max host Bill Maher for Maher’s praise for President Donald Trump following a dinner set up by Kid Rock.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Olbermann dismissed the dinner as a transactional move to preserve Maher’s career, directly attacking Maher’s character and motivations.
“BTW don’t overanalyze Maher prostituting himself to Trump,” Olbermann wrote in a post. “Maher works for the same fascists at Warner who took over and corrupted CNN.”
Olbermann, who has had a long and often combative career in media, claimed personal knowledge of Maher stretching back nearly five decades.
“I’ve known Bill since 1978. He was a shameless opportunist with no real principles then and he remains so,” he added. “This is so he can keep his HBO show.”
The outburst came in response to Maher’s recent monologue on his late night show “Real Time with Bill Maher,” in which the host attempted to downplay the dinner with Trump — arranged by musician Kid Rock — as anything more than a social encounter. Maher opened his segment by mocking the media and public for blowing the meeting out of proportion: “Let me first say that to all the people who treated this like it was some sort of summit meeting, ‘You’re ridiculous,’” Maher said on his show.
The remarks signaled a softening or at least a personal re-evaluation of Trump from Maher, who’s previously critical of the former president. It was only two weeks ago, on a March 28 episode, that he delivered a segment titled “Trump Devotion Syndrome,” when the 69-year-old comedian mocked and skewered MAGA.
But that nuance was lost on Olbermann, who interpreted the meeting and Maher’s remarks as little more than damage control to maintain his standing within the Warner Bros. Discovery media company, which oversees HBO and CNN —both of which Olbermann accuses of ideological drift.
Whether Maher’s dinner with Trump will have long-term consequences for his credibility or ratings remains to be seen. But in the court of public opinion, the battle lines are already being drawn, and Olbermann has made it clear which side he’s on.
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