Bill Maher was in the news over the weekend when he described President Donald Trump, alongside musician Kid Rock, as being “gracious” and “measured”. This happened during a recent dinner that they shared at the White House. The well-known marijuana enthusiast insists he was “not high” at the time of the meeting.
Bill Maher spoke about meeting the President in an episode on his HBO program “Real Time With Bill Maher”, which aired Friday. Maher was criticized for his effusive praise of Trump during dinner. Maher said it contrasted his outward persona.
“You may hate me but I don’t lie.” Maher stated that Trump had been gracious and measured. Maher said, “I don’t understand why he doesn’t act like that when he meets other people. I’m not qualified to comment on this.” I’m just telling you what I saw—and I wasn’t high.”
Then he said, “Damn. Missed chance.”
Maher abstained from voting despite his habit of smoking pot with his guests in the “Club Random podcast”.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Trump’s initial pick for U.S. attorney general, declined to smoke a joint during an interview with Maher in January—but he did call out his party for being on the wrong side of the marijuana legalization debate.
During his run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, Vivek Ramaswamy also talked about his support for federal marijuana legalization in an interview with Maher, saying the current state–federal conflict on cannabis is “a farce” that allows governments to unfairly target people.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was then running to be the Democratic nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services in the United States before he switched parties and became Trump’s selection, appeared on Maher’s program, and spoke about his ambitious reforms for drugs policy.
Maher, who has long supported legalization of cannabis and embraced marijuana culture as a cultural phenomenon, did not make any mention about Maher trying to pressurize the president for reform.
My friend and I had dinner together with President Trump 12 days ago. @KidRock Set up, because we believe there must be better ways to insult people from 3000 kilometers away. pic.twitter.com/KE2t2eyBkI
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) April 12, 2025
Trump supported cannabis legalization in Florida, industry access to banking, and the rescheduling of marijuana. However, these initiatives ultimately failed. He has been noticeably silent since taking office.
In the meantime, marijuana users are stressed out, says a new poll. Half of U.S. adult cannabis users expect to use more cannabis during the Trump Administration than before.
The findings seem to comport with another recent survey that showed cannabis consumers self-reporting higher levels of stress since Trump was inaugurated compared to the overall population.
Recent comments from former officials of the Drug Enforcement Administration and HHS have also indicated that the marijuana rescheduling process may be stalled indefinitely if Trump does not take a proactive stance.
While HHS and the Justice Department backed marijuana rescheduling following the review initiated by former President Joe Biden, that process stalled near the end of his term due to issues in DEA administrative hearings.
Last week, DEA notified an agency judge that the cannabis rescheduling process is still on hold—with no future actions currently scheduled as the matter sits before the acting administrator, who has called cannabis a “gateway drug” and linked its use to psychosis.
According to a poll, marijuana users say that they will increase their consumption of cannabis in order to cope with Trump’s administration.
Photos courtesy of Wikimedia.