Comedian Bill Maher unleashed a scathing attack on President Donald Trump during his HBO show Friday, February 13, blasting the administration’s decision to roll back climate change regulations as the “biggest d*** move in American history.”
The 70-year-old host of “Real Time With Bill Maher” tore into the 79-year-old president after the Trump administration rescinded a landmark 2009 Environmental Protection Agency declaration that classified carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as dangers to public health. The move, announced February 12 at the White House, eliminates all greenhouse gas emissions standards for vehicles and could trigger sweeping repeals of climate regulations affecting power plants and oil and gas facilities, according to NPR.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin characterized the regulatory rollback as “the single largest deregulatory action in American history,” a description Maher seized upon during his monologue. The comedian quipped that Trump “thinks it’s just some bulls*** that people made up out of nothing to get rich. You know, like crypto.” He then delivered his verdict: “Probably true. Also the biggest d*** move in American history.”
The sharp criticism comes amid escalating tensions between the president and the late-night host. Trump spent his weekend posting a lengthy tirade on Truth Social about time wasted getting to know Maher, describing a dinner the two shared at the White House in spring 2025. The meeting was arranged by musician Kid Rock, a longtime Trump supporter who believed there had to be “something better than hurling insults from 3,000 miles away.”
In his nearly 500-word post, Trump claimed Maher arrived at the Oval Office “extremely nervous” and immediately requested a vodka tonic. “He said to me, ‘I’ve never felt like this before, I’m actually scared,'” Trump wrote, adding that “in one respect, it was somewhat endearing.” The president concluded by calling the dinner “a total waste of time for me to have this jerk at the White House.”
President Trump has consistently dismissed climate science throughout his political career. During a September 2025 speech at the United Nations General Assembly, he devoted more than ten minutes to attacking global warming policies, telling the audience of world leaders that climate change is “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.” He warned nations against pursuing green energy initiatives and dismissed carbon footprint concerns as “a hoax made up by people with evil intentions.”
The endangerment finding, established during the Obama administration following a 2007 Supreme Court ruling, determined that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare. It served as the legal foundation for numerous climate initiatives and vehicle emissions standards over the past 16 years. Environmental groups have condemned the reversal, with Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen calling it a move that “sacrifices our health, our safety, our economy, and our future.”
Maher addressed the dinner controversy in a recent interview with Elex Michaelson, defending his decision to meet with Trump. “The people who stopped watching my show because I had dinner with him are idiots, in my view,” Maher said. The comedian explained that he sat down with the president for several hours and reported accurately that Trump was “very different in person” — a statement that drew criticism from liberal viewers who felt he had softened his stance.
After the dinner, Maher described Trump as “gracious and measured” and said the president he met bore little resemblance to his public persona. “A crazy person doesn’t live in the White House,” Maher reported. “A person who plays a crazy person on TV a lot lives there.” Despite the positive initial assessment, Maher maintained he would continue criticizing the administration whenever warranted.
Maher revealed that Trump texts him occasionally, with the president expressing displeasure at the comedian’s continued criticism. “You’re still part of the lunatic left,” Maher quoted Trump as saying in one message. The comedian defended the ongoing dialogue, arguing that conversation beats “just this yelling at each other from across the barricades.”
This isn’t the first time Maher has mocked Trump in recent weeks. During his January 23 show — his first episode back from the holiday break — the comedian compared Trump’s renewed threats to take Greenland by force to “when the dog throws up on the rug, and then he eats it. You know, it took care of itself.” He also ridiculed Trump’s “framework” for a Greenland deal as having “no details, nothing written down” and being “modeled after the healthcare plan.”
Trump’s attacks on Maher extended beyond the dinner recollection, with the president claiming the comedian has low television ratings and suffers from “a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.” He compared Maher to other late-night hosts like Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Stephen Colbert, though Trump admitted Maher was “slightly more talented.”
The climate regulation rollback has drawn fierce opposition from scientists and environmental advocates. A recent National Academy of Sciences report concluded that the EPA’s original 2009 finding “was accurate, has stood the test of time, and is now reinforced by even stronger evidence.” Legal experts predict years of court battles ahead, with the case potentially reaching the Supreme Court.
“Real Time With Bill Maher” airs Fridays at 10 p.m. on HBO, where the comedian continues his weekly commentary on political developments from the Oval Office and beyond.