Bill Maher collected the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night, accepting comedy’s most prestigious lifetime honor at an institution still bearing the visible scars of its battle with Donald Trump — quite literally: a large tarp draped across the facade concealed the marble where Trump’s name had been chiseled in and then, by court order, removed.
Maher’s road to the ceremony had already passed through a White House denial, a Kennedy Center reversal, and a federal judge’s ruling stripping Trump’s name from the building. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had flatly declared earlier this year, “This is fake news. Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award.” He got it anyway.
On the red carpet, Maher brushed aside any suggestion that Trump’s ownership of the institution gave him pause. “He’s president. He’s a caretaker. He’s an employee right now. The country endures. This endures. Comedy endures,” he told reporters.
Inside, the jokes landed early and often. Woody Harrelson congratulated Maher on receiving the award “ironically at the Trump Kennedy Center,” then corrected himself: “Oh right, we fixed that.” Whitney Cummings warned that under Trump’s continued influence as chairman, the fall program might include “white Hamilton.” Jay Leno told the crowd that Trump was not happy about the award, then added: “You think he’s mad now? Wait until he finds out next year’s recipient is Bad Bunny.”
Trump himself never appeared, though his impersonator did. Comedian Matt Friend took the stage in character, demanding the prize for himself. “I get so many more laughs than this guy,” Friend said as Trump. Maher, a 42-time Emmy loser, responded: “Just take it. I am used to losing awards.”
In his acceptance speech, Maher held both parties to account. He acknowledged Trump’s label of him as a member of the “lunatic left,” saying: “He’s not wrong that there is one. I’m just not part of it.” He also called out those on the left who want to ban Huckleberry Finn, saying that anyone who creates something important enough will eventually be hated by everyone — “and that is when you know you are doing it right.”
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His central argument was that laughter is involuntary — “people’s inescapable truth detector” — and his advice to anyone who ends up in his monologue was simple: “You want to not get mocked? Stop being funny.”
The ceremony featured tributes from Huffington, Leno, Harrelson, Louis C.K., and Stephen A. Smith, with Jerry Seinfeld appearing via video from Las Vegas. John Mellencamp closed the night with a live performance. The show will stream on Netflix on July 21.
