Bill Maher isn’t backing down after getting blowback for meeting with President Donald Trump. In fact, he thinks people should be praising him.

The “Real Time” host opened up about the backlash during an appearance on the “2 Angry Men” podcast, where he discussed his decision to visit the White House and speak directly with Trump. Despite pushback from the left, Maher made clear he doesn’t regret it—and says he stayed true to himself.

“I’m not pulling punches, either on my show or when I was with him or after,” Maher told podcast hosts Harvey Levin and Mark Geragos. “And I’m proud that I was able to go into the White House and say to the President of the United States, look him in the eye and say, ‘You’re scaring people. You know, it doesn’t bother you that you’re scaring so many of your own citizens?'”

Twelve days ago, I had dinner with President Trump, a dinner that my friend @KidRock set up because we share the belief that there has to be something better than hurling insults from 3000 miles away. pic.twitter.com/KE2t2eyBkI

— Bill Maher (@billmaher) April 12, 2025

Some on the left weren’t happy about Maher’s monologue after the meeting, in which he described Trump as “gracious and measured.” But Maher pushed back hard, arguing that his critics missed the point.

“I would say to them, ‘As opposed to what?’ I had the opportunity to go to the White House and talk to the president and not give up my principles. It seems like nobody noticed that,” Maher said. “I didn’t go MAGA. I had the opportunity to talk to Donald Trump and say things to him that maybe he never hears, literally to speak truth to power. I shouldn’t take that opportunity?”

He continued, defending the choice to sit down with Trump while maintaining his own stance.

“So, I should be a hero for going there and doing those things and saying those things to the president. I’m not the villain here,” Maher said. “I mean, there’s two ways you can do the Oval Office: the way I did it, honestly, or, like Gretchen Whitmer, who held up a bunch of binders in front of her face.”

“I should be a hero for being one of the people who got inside the inner sanctum and was able to say to this person – who knows how much he ever hears anything that’s not coming from the cult – and say those things and stick to my guns.”

Maher caused a stir when he told his audience, “I never felt I had to walk on eggshells around him,” comparing the interaction to past presidents.

“And honestly, I voted for Clinton and Obama, but I would never feel comfortable talking to them the way I was able to talk with Donald Trump. That’s just how it went down. Make of it what you will. Me? I feel it’s emblematic of why the Democrats are so unpopular these days.”

While conservatives applauded the visit, many on the left slammed Maher for supposedly playing into a “PR stunt.” He, however, stands by his actions—and thinks the whole experience should earn him more respect, not less.