Bill Maher took several shots at Donald Trump during Friday’s “Real Time” monologue, at one point calling the president an “arch-criminal.”
The comedian laid into Trump at-length while recapping his recent visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, D.C., mocking the president for showing off his many renovation projects, including his Triumphal Arch.
“Trump thinks that Xi could give a f–k about being his friend,” Maher ripped Friday evening. “So, it’s all personal. Trump did everything he could to show him around. He showed him the new spot where the limo drops people off. That’s been improved. Really, I’m not making this up. Showed him the new helipad. The ballroom. Does he know that China builds like entire cities in a week? And he’s showing him the driveway. It’s like showing Gordon Ramsay how to reheat pizza.”
As Maher went on, he roasted the Trump administration for being fixated on “redecorating,” adding, “It’s the most macho and the gayest administration ever.”
“The latest redecoration obsession is Trump is like, ‘We need an arch. Yesterday. F–k, all the cities in the world have an arch,’” Maher said, while doing his best Trump impression. “‘We’re looking bad over here without an arch. F–king Biden let us go archless for years. Luckily, my good friend President Xi is an understanding man, and he accepts that we don’t have an arch. Because to not have one is criminal.”
At this moment, Maher zeroed in on Trump’s past legal woes, quipping: “If anybody knows about an arch-criminal, it’s Donald Trump.”
As Maher’s studio audience erupted into cheers and applause over this jab, the comedian clarified that he was merely joking.
“I kid. It’s always with love, everybody,” Maher noted as the crowd continued to cheer.
“So, that is our agenda here in America,” Maher added. “Arch. Annihilate.”
Trump took Xi on a tour of his projects. Xi builds entire cities in a week, and Trump shows off his helipad? It’s like showing Gordon Ramsey how you can reheat pizza. pic.twitter.com/EDGHthY1HH
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) September 26, 2026
Maher’s Friday dig adds a new layer to his already complex dynamic with the president. While the two men had a friendly dinner in March 2025, the pair’s relationship has been tense for the most part.
For instance, after a brief stalemate, Maher famously railed against the president on “Real Time” for suggesting he had “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
“Someone has to help Donald Trump understand that I don’t suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome. He suffers from Bill Maher Derangement Syndrome,” Maher said at the time. “I will not consider the dinner ‘a waste of time,’ even as I now see we’re back to name calling and that I have some new ones like, ‘highly overrated lightweight’ to add to the list you signed.”
Maher has since openly criticized the president on a number of occasions. Back in June, after Trump accused him of having “low ratings” and a “fake laughing machine” on social media, Maher fired back by suggesting that the president was just in a “bad mood.”
“I can always tell when the president is in a bad mood because he starts tweeting about me,” Maher remarked at the time. “I feel it’s an honor to always be in his tweets, even when they are bad – and they are always bad.”
He continued: “This week, he said I was ‘low ratings Bill Maher with his fake laughing machine.’ First of all, low ratings? Yours is 35%. And fake laughing machine, can we get a shot of our audience?”
A representative for the White House did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
“Real Time With Bill Maher” airs new episodes Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.
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