A weekend television segment commending Bill Maher’s rigorous interrogation of California Gov. Gavin Newsom provoked a fierce rebuke from President Trump on Saturday, with the president urging Fox News to remove the HBO comedian from its programming.
The outburst occurred roughly 30 minutes following “The Big Weekend Show” broadcast on May 2, 2026, with the 79-year-old president seemingly tuned in as the right-leaning network’s hosts praised Maher for his Friday evening questioning of Newsom on “Real Time.” Trump unleashed an extensive Truth Social screed that evening, incensed that Fox had offered any commendation to his political adversaries.
“Fox should stop putting this person on. He’s not representing us. You look weak, stupid, and ineffective, and I hate seeing that. DON’T USE BILL MAHER ANY LONGER AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF YOU!” Trump wrote, including a final jab at another regular target: “Bill Maher is a MORON, though slightly more talented than Jimmy Kimmel.”
The Segment That Set Him Off
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News’ chief medical correspondent, and co-host Tomi Lahren reviewed Maher’s exchange with Newsom regarding California’s fiscal challenges. A banner reading “The Truth Hurts” accompanied clips of Maher pressing the governor on fuel costs, housing expenses, and the struggling high-speed rail initiative.
“I mean the train. Gavin, you got to get rid of the train. I say this as a friend, you got to let that train go,” Maher told Newsom — referencing a project that surrendered roughly $4 billion in federal grants in July 2025 when the Trump administration cut funding. Lahren characterized the project as a “boondoggle” and stated she “loved” how Maher “called him out.”
The rail project’s anticipated expense has now risen to $231 billion, with the initial operational section potentially not becoming operational until 2032. Though construction in the Central Valley is partially in progress — exceeding 50 structures finished and approximately 70 miles of rail bed laid — the full Los Angeles-to-San Francisco corridor continues to remain uncertain.
A Familiar White House Grievance
Trump referenced his much-publicized early 2025 White House meal with Maher, depicting the comedian — who was recently selected to receive the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor — as apprehensive and unprepared during the presidential office meeting. He characterized Maher as “nervous, scared,” asserting the comedian’s initial remarks constituted a request for alcohol, an instance Trump deemed “endearing but, at the same time, absolutely pathetic.”
The president has regularly voiced displeasure when right-leaning figures recognize Maher. He previously directed Republicans to refrain from citing the HBO personality as confirmation that “the Left is coming over our way.” On Valentine’s Day this year, he issued another harsh condemnation labeling Maher a “jerk,” a “highly overrated LIGHTWEIGHT” and someone experiencing “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” This most recent attack maintained that trajectory.
Newsom’s “Mirror” Defense
Throughout the HBO conversation, Maher challenged the 58-year-old governor regarding his adoption of Trump-style approaches on social media. The comedian underscored the contradiction that Newsom — who is pursuing a $787 million lawsuit against Fox News — appears to be the Democratic figure most visibly emulating Trump’s method of online provocation and litigation among potential 2028 hopefuls.
“I’m trying to put a mirror up to Donald Trump,” the governor responded. Newsom assailed the president for declining to “unite this country in any way, shape, or form” and characterized the present circumstances as “the sewer we’re now living in because of Donald Trump.”
Maher declined to permit Newsom to circumvent responsibility for California’s difficulties, however. When the governor reacted with an enthusiastic “good!” to scrutiny of his numbers, Maher countered: “Are they gonna say ‘good’ about gas prices? Are they gonna say ‘good’ about how high the rents are?” Lahren subsequently emphasized that instance as evidence of a “smug” Newsom receiving pushback.
Trump’s California Indictment
The preponderance of Trump’s extensive Truth Social messages constituted a condemnation of Newsom — whom he called “Newscum.” The president asserted the governor had prevailed over Maher because the 70-year-old comedian was “defenseless, and totally deficient,” incapable of adequately critiquing California’s performance.
Trump enumerated state complications: unhoused individuals affecting Los Angeles and San Francisco, a rail undertaking he characterized as “Billions of Dollars over budget,” and approximately 25,000 residences destroyed by wildfires this year. The president attributed responsibility for the reconstruction effort, stating, “If it weren’t for our Superstar EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and me, they wouldn’t have any homes being built right now!”
He additionally asserted that California is experiencing population decline, maintaining that “for the first time in History, more people are leaving than coming.”
What commenced as a Saturday evening discussion on a network that has functioned as Trump’s most reliable outlet for a decade concluded with the president attacking that same television outlet — simply because two Fox personalities momentarily concurred with a comedian Trump detests.
