HBO host Bill Maher, one of President Trump’s longtime critics, told viewers Friday night that the president is a genuine listener behind closed doors, according to video of the exchange shared on X and reporting by HuffPost and Yahoo Entertainment.
Maher made the remarks on the Oct. 23 episode of “Real Time with Bill Maher” while interviewing former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, according to Yahoo Entertainment, which reported that Leavitt left the press secretary role in August and is set to start at Fox News on Nov. 1.
Bill Maher admits Trump is a remarkable listener who never interrupts and values every opinion in the room.
MAHER: "Remember, we were going to have a live execution of the Fort Hood shooter? Somebody talked to him. He DOES LISTEN when he’s in that White House. He never… pic.twitter.com/FZUaBVBbpT
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) October 24, 2026
“He does listen when he’s in that White House,” Maher said, according to HuffPost’s account of the interview. “He looks you in the eye. He never interrupts. He never gets mad. He listens.”
Maher offered an example. He pointed to the administration’s recent talk of a livestreamed execution of the Fort Hood shooter, a plan he said was later dropped. “Somebody talked him out of that,” Maher said, according to HuffPost and Yahoo Entertainment.
Leavitt: He asks everyone in the room
Leavitt agreed with the host and described how the president runs a meeting. “He does. And he surveys the room,” she said, according to Yahoo Entertainment. She said she finds it “admirable” that the president “asks the opinions of everyone” present, “whether it’s a low-level staffer or his chief of staff.”
“He genuinely wants to know how people feel, what they think,” Leavitt said, according to the same report. “He takes their counsel and advice. And then I think he makes the best decision he believes is best for the country in that moment.”
Maher answered “True,” according to the video clip posted on X.
Not a full conversion
The praise came alongside sharp criticism. Maher told Leavitt he thinks the president’s handling of Russia and Ukraine is “unconscionable,” according to HuffPost, and said that if the late Sen. Lindsey Graham were still alive, he did not think the president “would be doing the stuff he’s doing.”
Maher also pressed Leavitt on whether a “lame duck” president would turn to vengeance if Republicans lose ground in the Nov. 3 midterms, according to Yahoo Entertainment. Leavitt said she does not worry about it. “The president does have a way of defying history,” she said, according to that report, adding that he has said he is willing to work with Democrats.
Leavitt cited the president’s work with Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, as an example, according to Yahoo Entertainment, and said the president is “always the type of guy” willing to work with Democrats who want to work with him.
Why it matters
Maher has visited the president at the White House twice since the 2024 election, according to HuffPost. His account of a patient, attentive president in private cuts against the image of an impulsive leader common in coverage of the president, and it comes from a host whose audience leans left.
The clip spread quickly on X on Saturday. A post from the account The Vigilant Fox drew more than 340,000 views and roughly 17,000 likes within hours, according to the post’s public metrics.
The midterm elections are Nov. 3, and a firsthand account of the president’s private style from a frequent critic gives Republicans a fresh talking point heading into the final stretch.
Sources
- HuffPost: Bill Maher Reveals One Issue He Pressed Trump On
- Yahoo Entertainment: Bill Maher Grills Karoline Leavitt
- Video clip on X
Sources cited
Sources
- Original post: The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) on X, Oct 24, 2026
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