The “Real Time” host has not always had a smooth relationship with the current administration.

Bill Maher to receive Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize, after White House said he wouldn’t

The "Real Time" host has not always had a smooth relationship with the current administration.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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March 26, 2026 6:39 p.m. ET

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Bill Maher in 2024. Credit:

Noam Galai/Getty

Actually, Bill Maher *will* receive the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

The White House had denied the move would happen, dismissing a report from *The Atlantic* last week as "fake news," but the institution confirmed it Thursday.

"For nearly three decades, the Mark Twain Prize has celebrated some of the greatest minds in comedy," Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations, said in a statement. "For even longer, Bill has been influencing American discourse — one politically incorrect joke at a time."

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For more than 30 years, Maher has hosted shows such as *Politically Incorrect*, which began on Comedy Central and later moved to ABC before ending its run in 2002, and his current HBO series, *Real Time With Bill Maher*, which debuted in 2003.

"Thank you to the Mark Twain people," Maher said. "I just had the award explained to me, and apparently it's like an Emmy, except I win. I'd just like to say that it is indeed humbling to get anything named for a man who's been thrown out of as many school libraries as Mark Twain."

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Maher, who has sparred with President Donald Trump and numerous other politicians over the years, will join an accomplished list of humorists who've won the honor in years past, including Richard Pryor, Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, George Carlin, Tina Fey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Dave Chappelle, Jon Stewart, and last year's winner Conan O’Brien.

He's scheduled to be inducted into the prestigious group, which "recognizes individuals who have had an impact on American society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th-century novelist and essayist Samuel Clemens," at a gala on June 28. Traditionally, the event has been a star-studded affair, featuring previous recipients, former colleagues of the honoree, and notable comedy stars.

Maher and Donald Trump at the Emmys in 2004.

Kevin Winter/Getty

The organization behind the Kennedy Center has been the subject of controversy this year, with Trump taking over as its chairman, replacing the board and renaming the institution the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, for starters.

Following Trump's changes, multiple artists have withdrawn from scheduled appearances at the Kennedy Center's storied concert hall.

Maher's ceremony will be held ahead of the venue's two-year closure for renovations.

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