US comedian Bill Maher was honoured with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at a ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington. However, the event was marked by controversy and comedy, thanks to Donald Trump's influence on the institution. Maher's acceptance speech was interrupted by a well-known Trump impersonator, who joked about accepting the award in the president's voice.
The ceremony highlighted the comedian's long history of controversy, including his outspoken views on religion and marijuana. Maher has also been involved in a complicated history with Trump, who sued him in 2013 after the comedian made a joke about his parentage. The two have since engaged in a series of public jabs, with Trump even signing a document listing Maher's past criticisms of him. The Mark Twain Prize ceremony is set to air on Netflix on July 21, bringing a night of comedy, politics, and cultural conflict to a wider audience.
The event also highlighted the dispute over Trump's changes to the Kennedy Center. Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has dramatically reshaped the performing arts institution, removing much of the centre's leadership and replacing the board with allies. The move triggered a legal fight over presidential authority, with a US District Judge later ruling that Trump's name had been illegally added to the building's facade.
The ceremony featured a series of comedians, including Whitney Cummings, Jay Leno, and Woody Harrelson, who weaved Trump into their routines. The jokes were often playful rather than aggressively political, with Cummings even suggesting that Trump's influence could lead the Kennedy Center to host a 'white Hamilton'. Maher himself avoided directly attacking the president, instead focusing his speech on political tribalism and the dangers of 'groupthink'. The event was a reminder of the complex and often fraught relationship between comedy and politics.