President Donald Trump has thanked comedian Bill Maher after he admitted being wrong about the president’s tariff plan potentially tanking the U.S. economy.
On Monday’s episode of his Club Random podcast, Maher even pointed out how far America was from being in a depression, during a discussion with his guest, progressive political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen.
Maher, who had dinner with Trump in April after an invite from mutual friend Kid Rock, revealed he thought the president would “f—ing sink the economy” with his plan to charge countries steep tariffs to export goods to America.
The podcast host said he, “along with probably most people,” thought Trump would have “tanked” the country by July 4.
“I was kind of like, well, that seems right to me, but that didn’t happen,” Maher said. “Now it could happen tomorrow. I’m just saying that’s reality.”
He continued, “Because the truth is, I don’t know what his strategy is, but look, the stock market is at record highs. I know not everybody lives by the stock market, but I also drive around. I don’t see a country in a depression at all. I see people out there just living their lives.”
Maher admitted, “I would have thought, and I’ve got to own it, that these tariffs were going to f—ing sink this economy by this time, and they didn’t. So you know, how do we deal with that fact ‘cause that’s the fact.”
Stiff tariffs on international imports were first meant to kick in after April, but parts of them were delayed, reduced, or stopped in a series of reversals that helped cement the TACO Trump (Trump Always Chickens Out) nickname.
A clip of Maher’s admission was reposted on Monday by President Trump on Truth Social with the caption, “Thanks Bill!”
That sent some major MAGA players into a spin. Right-wing broadcaster Charlie Kirk posted the clip on X, stating, “Kudos for the intellectual honesty.” Fox News contributor Nick Sortor posted, “WOW! Bill Maher admitted he was WRONG about Trump’s tariffs.”
During the podcast, Maher said he had a “hate list” and a “don’t hate list” when it came to Trump’s actions. “I do not want military parades,” Maher stated. “I do not want the army playing cops.”
He also dismissed blanket hatred of Trump as being “dishonest.”
The comedian said, “I’m just so not interested in this ‘I hate Trump more than you do’ contest. It’s not productive. It’s not helping. It’s not getting anywhere. It’s not doing anything for the country. I’m for, you know, actually making this country work better.”
While Maher has often aligned himself with liberal viewpoints, including criticism of Trump, the commentator took heat after he dined with the president and described him as “gracious and measured.”
The post Trump Responds to Bill Maher’s ‘Got to Own It’ Admission appeared first on The Daily Beast.
