Bill Maher has nothing but respect for President Trump’s outspoken disdain for reporters who dare to ask him questions.
“There is something not exactly psychologically normal about someone who just vomits their interior monologue, but it gives him an authenticity with people that no one else can possibly match,” Maher, 70, told his Club Random guest, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, on Monday.
“The honesty—as someone who loves honesty and has made my career about it as much as I could—there’s some level of it where you tip your hat and go ‘Wow, total honesty,’” Maher said.
Trump, 79, has an extensive history of belittling journalists. Last week, he chided 60 Minutes correspondent Norah O’Donnell, who asked him what he thought of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner gunman, who had called him a “pedophile, rapist, and traitor” in his manifesto.
“I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would, because you’re horrible people. Horrible people,” the president responded, denying the accusations. He continued to steamroll O’Donnell, calling her “a disgrace” before allowing the interview to continue.
“His reaction immediately was to her, ‘You’re a terrible person.’ And he didn’t just think it,” Maher said, adding, “Like any politician, that’s exactly what they’re thinking. He just says it like that’s what’s in his head.”
“It’s at the same time horrifying, and also it’s kind of refreshing,” he noted.
Fetterman agreed, saying that the “ultimate” example of Trump’s “authenticity” is when he told a female Bloomberg reporter on Air Force One, “Quiet, piggy,” when she asked him a question about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
“That’s the president of America! And he said, ‘Quiet, piggy,’” Fetterman said as the pair burst into laughter. “All you can do is just...” Fetterman added, throwing his hands up before trailing off.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the senator for comment.
Despite laughing on the show, Maher previously laid into Trump’s press secretary for her defense of the remark.
“At the press conference the next day, his press secretary Karoline Leavitt spun this by saying: ‘It’s actually admirable. It’s the president being frank and open, and honest. It’s actually good,’” the host said on Real Time in November.
Maher responded sarcastically, “Well, in that case, ‘Shut up, b----.’”
As for Trump’s disdain for him, Maher said, “I don’t get mad when he sends out these tweets anymore about me. Because the next day, I feel like it’s forgotten.”
Trump has been at odds with Maher over the past few months, even going so far as to undermine the comedian’s Mark Twain Prize.
Just last week, the president called Maher a “moron” who “choked” during his interview with California Governor Gavin Newsom.
