Bill Maher in a pinstripe suit stands with arms outstretched at the Kennedy Center balcony, flanked by smiling guests, during his Mark Twain Prize ceremony.
REUTERS
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The White House Said Bill Maher Would “NOT” Get the Mark Twain Prize. He Got It Last Night Anyway, with John Fetterman as the Only Senator in Attendance

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Maher accepted the 27th Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Sunday night, the same honor the White House had publicly insisted he would never receive. Back in March, press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the reports “fake news” and said he would “NOT” be getting it. The Kennedy Center confirmed him soon after.

The prize is the Kennedy Center’s highest honor for comedy and social commentary, founded in 1998 to recognize work in the spirit of Mark Twain. Richard Pryor was the first recipient. Winners get a bronze bust of Twain modeled on an 1884 sculpture by Karl Gerhardt.

The room he walked into is one Trump now chairs, with a tarp still covering the original name and a federal judge in May blocking the administration’s effort to rename the building and shutter it for renovations. The center has appealed.

John Fetterman and Gisele Barreto Fetterman on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Sen. John Fetterman and Gisele Barreto Fetterman on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on June 28, 2026, for the Mark Twain Prize ceremony honoring Bill Maher. Photo by Nathan Howard / Reuters.

Whitney Cummings opened with a roast aimed at both men, joking that under Trump’s chairmanship future crowds would “enjoy a three-month run of ‘White Hamilton.'” Jay Leno, a previous winner, handed Maher the award. Matt Friend, doing a Trump impression, briefly shouted him down before joining him on stage.

From the stage, Maher thanked “the haters” and largely sidestepped the chance to skewer the administration in real time, philosophizing instead about his own oeuvre and comparing himself to Toto from The Wizard of Oz, the dog who “pulls back the curtain and exposes anyone who is a phony.”

Bill Maher speaking at the Kennedy Center while receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
At the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on June 28, 2026, Bill Maher walks onstage to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Photo by Nathan Howard / REUTERS.

Fetterman was the only sitting senator in the building, but a handful of Trump administration figures did turn up: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, Representative Anna Paulina Luna, and Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Troy Edgar. The rest of the room leaned comedy, media, and business: Louis C.K., Woody Harrelson, Stephen A. Smith, Dr. Drew, Arianna Huffington, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, investor Michael Kives, and a live set from John Mellencamp.

The ceremony streams on Netflix on July 21.

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Bill Maher in a pinstripe suit stands with arms outstretched at the Kennedy Center balcony, flanked by smiling guests, during his Mark Twain Prize ceremony.
REUTERS
John Fetterman and Gisele Barreto Fetterman on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Sen. John Fetterman and Gisele Barreto Fetterman on the red carpet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on June 28, 2026, for the Mark Twain Prize ceremony honoring Bill Maher. Photo by Nathan Howard Reuters.
Bill Maher speaking at the Kennedy Center while receiving the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
At the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., on June 28, 2026, Bill Maher walks onstage to receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Photo by Nathan Howard REUTERS.