Just days after praising their latest White House dinner, Trump turned on the comedian over his cannabis use, adding another twist to his complicated relationship with marijuana.
Donald Trump has a message for Bill Maher: put down the weed.
In an unusually lengthy Truth Social post on Sunday, October 25, the U.S. president launched into a sprawling attack on the Real Time host, calling him a “major POTHEAD” and warning that weed was damaging his health.
“He’s got to stop, it’s very bad for his health,” Trump wrote, adding that Maher “looked like hell” during their latest White House encounter.
The comments were part of a roughly 1,300-word tirade in which Trump also called Maher a “COMPLETE AND TOTAL LOSER,” criticized his HBO show and accused him of being drunk during their dinner.
Quite the turnaround for two men who were apparently getting along just days earlier.
From White House Dinner to Public Meltdown
On October 15, Maher returned to the White House for dinner with Trump, joined by ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith and musician Kid Rock.
The following day, Trump seemed pleased with how the dinner had gone. According to Fox News, he described it as a great evening, praised his guests, and suggested Maher liked him more than people realized.
Kid Rock was similarly enthusiastic, describing the gathering as an opportunity for people with opposing political views to have difficult conversations.
But the goodwill didn’t last. Maher defended his decision to attend the dinner during the October 23 episode of Real Time, pushing back against critics who questioned why he would sit down with the president again.
By Sunday, Trump had apparently changed his mind about the entire experience.
Trump’s Complicated Relationship With Weed
The president’s latest remarks are particularly interesting given his administration’s approach to cannabis policy.
His stance on the subject has been contradictory at best: while he has repeatedly voiced skepticism about adult cannabis use, he has also acknowledged its potential medical benefits.
In 2023, for instance, he declared that the plant does “significant damage”, even going so far as to blame “genetically engineered” cannabis and the trans community for mass shootings. Nevertheless, he also acknowledged that marijuana is popular among voters.
But as Marijuana Moment reported in April, Trump described medical cannabis as one of the best alternatives available to people suffering from certain health conditions. His administration has also taken steps toward federal cannabis reform.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, certain FDA-approved and state-regulated medical marijuana products have been moved to Schedule III, while broader cannabis rescheduling remains subject to administrative proceedings. That means the federal government is taking steps to recognize marijuana’s medical applications even as the president publicly criticizes a longtime consumer.
Bill Maher Isn’t Exactly New to Cannabis
Maher has spent decades openly discussing weed, advocating for its legalization and making cannabis part of his public persona.
His relationship with the plant is hardly a revelation, which makes Trump’s sudden concern seem less like breaking news than another chapter in their increasingly unpredictable feud.
Whether the president’s comments signal anything about his broader cannabis agenda remains unclear. For now, one thing is certain: Trump may be willing to support medical marijuana reform, but that apparently doesn’t mean he’s ready to embrace Bill Maher’s smoking habits.
Cover photo: Angela George, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons // Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons // Edited with Canva
