Bill Maher mocked President Donald Trump on Friday night on "Real Time" after Trump attacked him on Truth Social as a "low-ratings" host with a "fake laughing machine."
Maher turned Trump’s ratings jab back on the president by pointing to his own approval numbers.
"First of all, low ratings? Yours is 35 percent!" Maher said.
The line drew cheers from the studio audience as Maher continued responding to Trump’s post during his monologue.
Maher also pushed back on Trump’s claim that "Real Time" used fake laughter, asking the show to cut to the audience.
"And fake, fake laughing machine, can we get a shot of our audience?" Maher said.
The show then cut to stock footage of an audience applauding, extending the joke.
"There, that should settle that," Maher said.
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Maher opened the bit by saying he had grown used to being targeted by Trump online.
"I can always tell when the president is in a bad mood, because he starts tweeting about me," Maher said. "I feel it’s an honor always to be in his tweets, even when they’re bad, and they’re always bad."
"This week, he said I was ‘low ratings Bill Maher with his fake laughing machine.’"
A Fox News poll found Trump's overall approval number at 39%.
Trump mentioned Maher earlier in the week while boasting on Truth Social about political and media figures he claimed had been defeated or sidelined. In the post, Trump said, "My score, for two weeks, is 38-0, with three more limping Late Night Talk Show Hosts, including Low Ratings Bill Maher and his Fake `Laughing Machine’, to go."
Maher also used the monologue to joke about Trump's reported call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Axios reported Trump angrily confronted Netanyahu over confrontations with Lebanon and Hezbollah.
The Times of Israel, citing Axios, reported that Trump was said to have told Netanyahu, "You’re f---ing crazy," while an Israeli source later disputed the most dramatic parts of the account.
Maher referenced the reported exchange while tying it back to Trump's criticism of him.
"I know he’s in a foul mood," Maher said. "Did you see the phone call he had with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel? Wow, the language."
Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump administration for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
