Longtime Donald Trump critic Bill Maher has paid the president his highest compliment to date, following a meeting with him last week at the White House. 

Maher, who routinely mocks and berates Trump on his weekly show, made a striking assessment describing him as a political force of nature.

‘Trump is one of the most effective politicians,’ Maher stated during a sit-down with NewsNation host Chris Cuomo on his Club Random podcast. ‘Whatever you think of the policy and him as a person… just as a politician.’

For Maher who has consistently roasted Trump on his HBO show Real Time for nearly a decade, it was a rare acknowledgment of Trump’s raw political instinct and his singular hold on the American electorate.

Maher recalled two specific moments that forced even him, an avowed Trump skeptic, to stand back and applaud the sheer audacity of the president.

The first involved Trump’s handling of the Taliban during the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

‘When he did that thing where the guy came in from the Taliban and he said, “This is an aerial picture of your house. If during our withdrawal one American is hurt, just know I know where you live,”‘ Maher said. 

‘I was like, oh can we just play the music now? Because I don’t care it’s Donald Trump and he’s the worst person ever, blah, blah, blah – I f***ing love that!’

The second thing Maher paid Trump credit for, was for his street-level bravado.

‘One time they were doing something, something was going on and he said, “You know what? When you come after New York, you got to go through me.” It’s like, oh – hometown boy,’ Maher added.

Although it was far from an endorsement, Maher appeared to acknowledge Trump’s stage presence that he carried in ways his opponents can’t touch.

‘You know, he has those moments that no other politician has. And the Democrats have to find that guy,’ Maher said bluntly. ‘But let’s be real – they’ve been searching for years and they’re still coming up empty.’

In recent times Maher has built a reputation for attacking ‘woke’ liberalism and cancel culture just as fiercely as he criticizes MAGA politics. 

In his critique, he slammed Democrats for failing to understand what actually moves voters.

‘They always say message. “They didn’t hear our message,” Maher mocked. ‘Yeah, first of all they did – and they don’t like it. Second, they don’t give a s***. It’s not about the message. Trump changes his message every day and it doesn’t matter.’

According to Maher, Trump’s real political genius lies in his primal appeal.

‘People are not savvy about issues, but they smell a phony a mile away,’ Maher said. ‘And that kind of s*** – nobody else does it.’ 

Maher suggested how in a political era dominated by poll-tested slogans, and performative outrage – that it is Trump’s authenticity that seems to cut through in a way no other politician can replicate.

‘This guy just voices his interior monologue,’ Maher said. ‘And voters eat it up.’

During the 90-minute-long conversation Maher was quick to stress his dislike over the majority of much of Trump’s behavior, particularly regarding his infamous comment in 2015 about John McCain where he said he wasn’t a hero after getting shot down during the Vietnam War.

‘I really, really hated that. I mean, people… if you get shot down, you’re not a hero? It was so offensive,’ Maher said.

Maher noted how Trump’s authenticity and dominance appeared to matter more than facts or policy – two things Trump has largely managed to shrugged off with no visible penalty.

And for that, Maher says, Democrats had better take notes.

‘He is daddy,’ Maher said, half-joking. ‘People want a daddy. And Democrats keep putting up Tims.

‘He has that thing. And no one else has it.’ 

Maher broke bread with Trump at the White House last week – and the podcaster’s mind was ‘blown’ after the meeting, according to Kid Rock, who was also in attendance. 

The unlikely pairing are said to have bonded over their common interests, including ‘ending wokeness and securing the border.’ 

Maher teased that he has a lot to say about the experience, but that he wouldn’t be spilling the intimate details until April 11.