This year, Donald Trump dedicated a particularly lengthy and intense message to one individual on his Valentine’s list: late-night TV host Bill Maher.
However, the message was not one of affection; it was filled with anger as Trump criticized Maher as a ‘jerk’ for declining a dinner invitation at the White House back in April of the previous year.
It seems the president tuned into Maher’s Friday night program, where the comedian mocked Trump’s statement predicting that China might ‘terminate all ice hockey’ if Canada agreed to a trade deal with the U.S.’s competitor. Maher reacted with a perplexed, “what the f***k?”
Happy Valentine's Day ❤️ pic.twitter.com/Symy237CAD
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 14, 2026
Maher continued, “I think this is the kinda thing that is causing his popularity to go down.” After hearing these remarks, and recalling the previous dinner and Christmas party invitation extended to Maher, Trump began his lengthy response with, “Sometimes in life you waste time!”
The president then recounted their dinner, describing Maher as ‘extremely nervous’ and claiming he requested a vodka tonic shortly after their introduction.
Trump further shared: “He said to me, ‘I’ve never felt like this before, I’m actually scared’. In one respect, it was somewhat endearing.”
Despite painting Maher as anything but courageous during the dinner, Trump noted that Maher had been ‘very respectful’ and seemed like ‘a nice guy’.
Yet, in today’s political climate where loyalty is paramount, Maher’s continued criticisms of the Trump administration on various media platforms were taken personally by Trump.
“But then I noticed his show started to devolve into the same old story – Very boring, ANTI TRUMP,” Trump expressed in his Valentine’s Day rant. He added: “It was a total waste of time for me to have this jerk at the White House.”
In his extensive 500-word outburst, Trump claimed he was only joking about China ‘eliminating’ the Stanley Cup, accusing Maher of treating it as though he were serious.
Despite watching enough episodes of Real Time to understand Maher’s views on his achievements, and acknowledging Maher as ‘slightly more talented’ than other hosts, Trump concluded: “Fortunately, his Television Ratings are so low that nobody will learn about his various Fake News statements about me.”