Bill Maher receives Mark Twain Prize at embattled Kennedy Center

Bill Maher accepted the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday at the Kennedy Center, where the night’s biggest running joke was not only the honoree’s long career of provocation but President Donald Trump’s contested grip on the Washington arts institution.

Trump did not attend the ceremony, but his presence loomed over the Concert Hall. Moments after Maher began his acceptance speech, Matt Friend, a leading Trump impersonator, walked onstage and, in the president’s voice, joked that he would accept the award himself.

“I had one of the greatest comedy careers of all time,” Friend said. “I get so many more laughs than this guy!”

The jokes landed in a venue at the center of a legal and political fight. After returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump fired much of the Kennedy Center’s leadership and installed a board largely made up of allies. The board named him chairman, and his name was added to the building’s facade. A federal judge later ruled the addition illegal and ordered it removed. The judge also blocked Trump’s plan to close the center in July for a two-year renovation.

Outside the building Sunday, a tarp covered the section of the marble facade where Trump’s name had been removed. Inside, performers made the dispute part of the show.

“Finally, an award for my dear friend – ironically at the Trump Kennedy Center,” Woody Harrelson said. “No, all right, we fixed that.” After applause, he added, “Not as though you’d be able to notice.”

Whitney Cummings also aimed at Trump’s influence over the venue. “I’m just glad we all celebrated Bill tonight, even though Trump is now the board chair of this venue,” she said. “He actually does have a lot of power here and he has a say what productions go on here, so enjoy this fall’s three-month run of White Hamilton.”

Jay Leno, speaking on the red carpet, called the fight over the name “vanity” and “high school with money.” He added, “It’s not a war. It’s not people getting killed. It’s not antisemitism. It’s a silly thing covering a name.”

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defended Trump’s approach, saying the president “wants to make this building sensational.” According to The Guardian, Lutnick also said Trump was “the builder in chief” and would “try his darnedest to make this building shine.”

The ceremony also focused on Maher’s 33-year television career, his fondness for marijuana, his atheism, and the controversies that have defined his public persona, including remarks after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that led to the cancellation of “Politically Incorrect.” Maher, 70, used his speech to reject political orthodoxy on both the right and the left.

“If you hang around long enough and create something important enough, everyone hates you at some point,” Maher said.

He told the audience, “People say they want honesty. They don’t. They want to live in a bubble,” and added, “I don’t ask what will please the audience. I ask what is true and they’re OK with that.”

Maher’s selection was notable because of his strained history with Trump. In 2013, Trump sued Maher for $5 million after Maher said on “The Tonight Show” that he would donate that amount to charity if Trump proved he was not “the spawn of his mother having sex with an orangutan.” Trump dropped the lawsuit.

Earlier this year, Trump criticized a dinner he had with Maher. At Sunday’s ceremony, Maher told Friend’s Trump impersonation that the dinner “was always about just having the two sides talk to each other instead of shouting at each other.”

The Mark Twain Prize was established in 1998. Past recipients include Richard Pryor, Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle, Jon Stewart and Conan O’Brien. The Maher ceremony is scheduled to air on Netflix on July 21.