Actor Bill Maher was the guest of honor at the Kennedy Center on Sunday evening. But the presence of President Donald Trump was not far away.
Just moments after Maher began accepting the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Matt Friend, one of the president’s leading impersonators, took the stage and, in Trump’s voice, joked that he would accept the award himself. Trump has been a punchline for other comedians and artists, including Whitney Cummings, Jay Leno and Woody Harrelson.
For the most part, the barbs weren’t particularly biting. Cummings, for example, said that under Trump’s influence, the Kennedy Center would host “the white Hamilton.” And once Friend left the stage, Maher largely avoided attacking the president. The comment was nevertheless notable because it took place in an iconic performing arts venue that Trump has gone to extraordinary lengths to bend in his favor, leaving its future uncertain in the years to come.
In accepting the award, Maher derided the extremes of both political parties, rejecting what he called “groupthink.”
“If you stay long enough and create something big enough, everyone hates you at some point,” Maher said.
The ceremony at the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall was not purely political. There have been numerous jokes about Maher’s penchant for marijuana, his rejection of organized religion and his penchant for controversy, including comments he made shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks that led to the cancellation of his television show “Politically Incorrect.”
But the future of the Kennedy Center depended above all on this event.
Shortly after Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, the Republican president fired much of the center’s leadership and installed a board largely composed of allies. He nominated Trump for president and his name was added to the building’s iconic facade, sparking a legal battle that turned into a proxy fight over the extent of the president’s power.
Trump later said the Kennedy Center would close in July for a two-year renovation. But U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper upended those plans in May by ruling that Trump’s name was illegally added to the building and ordering its removal. The judge also blocked the closure.
Trump’s name came down from the building, per the judge’s order. But the part of the building once covered in letters spelling out the president’s name is now shrouded in a tarp. The total closure is suspended. Kennedy Center lawyers said they have no plans to develop any programs at this time.
Cooper asked for an update next month on how long the tarp will remain on the building. For now, the last event scheduled at the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall is “The Freedom Gathering: A Musical Celebration” on July 3.
The legal fight turned into a saga that sometimes became the subject of jokes at the Twain Gala. At one point, Harrelson joked that “we fixed that problem” in a nod to the court order requiring Trump’s name to be removed from the building.
Before the ceremony, Lutnick said Trump “wanted to make this building sensational.”
But others were more skeptical. While walking the red carpet before the ceremony, Leno said Trump’s actions at the Kennedy Center were both “hilarious” and “conceited.”
“This is not a war,” he said. “It’s not people getting killed. It’s not anti-Semitism. It’s a stupid thing to hide a name. I mean, what’s funnier than that? I mean, it’s like, you know, it’s high school with money.”
Friend said he felt a “hunger games vibe” when he entered the building.
“It’s crazy,” he said of the changes Trump is calling for.
Given Trump’s influence over the Kennedy Center, Maher’s selection for the award was notable because the two men have long had a strained relationship.
Before entering politics, Trump filed a $5 million lawsuit against Maher in 2013 for breach of contract. Appearing on Leno’s “The Tonight Show,” Maher said he would donate $5 million to Trump’s chosen charity if it could prove he wasn’t “his mother’s offspring having sex with an orangutan.”
Trump claimed that when he provided his birth certificate, Maher failed to pay, prompting the lawsuit. Trump ended up abandoning it.
The Trump-Maher relationship exploded further earlier this year, when the president claimed on social media that he wasted time sitting down for a meal with the comedian last year. Lutnick noted that Trump wrote down every critical comment he made about Maher over the years and autographed the document.
“You have to be able to laugh about it,” Lutnick said. “The president can laugh about it. Bill Maher can laugh about it. And that’s what makes this night great.”
Maher hosted Vice President JD Vance on his show before the weekend. Vance, who is promoting a book, said he watched the show and made fun of Maher’s monologue “even if you were making fun of me.” During the interview, Maher focused on the war in Iran, immigration enforcement and election conspiracy theories.
“An election can have two outcomes, guys,” Maher told Vance. “Either we win or they cheated. This has to stop.”
The Twain Prize ceremony will air on Netflix on July 21.