"I'll never have dinner with the President..."
Get the Point!
"I'll never have dinner with the president, and when I see your ass again I'll be hesitant..." Ice Cube rapping about former NWA group member Eazy-E’s dinner with President George H.W. Bush in the 1991 diss track classic, "No Vaseline"
Bill Maher, Real Time, April 11, 2025
So, I think that we can all agree that Bill Maher is no Ice Cube circa '91, which is oddly funny when considering that Cube appeared on his Real Time show on HBO several years ago and checked him by reminding that no matter how cool the comedian/commentary may think that he is with Black people, that he didn't have the right to ever use the "N-word" on air, stage, or in private. The usually combative Maher stood down that night—likely to keep up appearances of being a white progressive ally to maintain his strong viewership numbers.
This past week, Maher took another turn that could impact his progressive viewership numbers—but may increase his conservative viewers when he took to the air to recount his recent private dinner with President Donald Trump at the White House. For those unaware, Maher flew to Washington, D.C. as a guest of Trump pal Kid Rock, the wack white "rapper"/rocker who is to Trump/MAGA movement what Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack were to the Kennedy/Camelot movement in the 1960's.
Kid Rock is a frequent guest of President Trump at the White House…
As far as the Maher/Trump dinner is concerned, let me begin by saying that through the years I've found myself at times agreeing with Maher on some political/social issues—and disagreeing with many others. And while I've never had reason to mention this before, I will now state that Maher has always given a condescending vibe—the whole "I know what's best for you people" type of aura—like the mayor's wife (Miss Millie) in The Color Purple who loudly boasted "I've always been good to you people. I've always liked Coloreds!" To me, white folks of this ilk "think" that they are allies, but their allyship is totally situational—not fluid and sincere!
Truly, it was frustrating to listen to Maher trying to normalize Trump when there's nothing normal whatsoever about this mad MAGA man’s rhetorical race baiting that has manifested into racist policies!
I could not care less about Trump "laughing" a “real laugh” over dinner, or, "having a great sense of humor" while walking around the White House with Bill and Kid Rock when I know that only a few feet away from where the Marmalade Mephistopheles licks his tiny little fingers while devouring his favorite meals of Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald's, he has signed Executive Orders that have rolled back Black civil rights; removed Black officers from high military command; slashed federal jobs that are disproportionately impacting Black federal workers; dismantled Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs while requiring states and universities to comply with his dictates to end federal civil rights protections under the sophistry of eliminating discrimination against white people. As one who has spent my entire adult life as a Black educator, or lawyer, or lobbyist/policy analyst, and at all times, a Black journalist, I can say without hesitation that there's not a got damn thing funny about Trump or Trumpism in the modern era when it comes to my people!
And while Maher and Trump were busy being a couple of rich dudes laughing it up, inflation is still high, eggs are still too expensive, the global economy is racing to recession due to Trump's tariff tantrums (which Maher did criticize on air), while women, other people of color, Muslims, and the LGBTQ community are ALL catching Hell due to presidential policies!
Sadly, we have seen this play before throughout American history; it's the reason why after nearly one million Americans were killed during a Civil War started by rebellious southern states in 1861, that instead of hanging the Confederate political leaders from the nearest tree—or shooting each of the Rebel military leaders for treason—these criminal white men were given grace, the whole "malice towards none, and charity for all" mercy that President Abraham Lincoln, the last famous casualty of that war when he was assassinated only days after General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, wished to offer to all of America’s southern white "Brothers."
It's the reason why after 12 short years of Reconstruction, those same former Confederate white men were given back the keys to political power following the Compromise of 1877 and with their resurgence, created Jim Crow segregation ordinances that plagued Black citizens by law until 1968—and plague Black people by legacy and custom to this very hour!
It's the reason why former racist Southern Dixiecrats flocked to the Republican Party after Democratic President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and as Republicans, the heirs of those Dixiecrats who now wear the red MAGA hats, like Trump, are undermining the tenor of those basic civil rights laws on a daily basis!
That's why I conclude that if Maher was a true ally, he would have used his platform to educate this president about how racist and divisive his policies are with respect to the American people—and how dangerous his foreign economic and military policies are worldwide. A true ally would have gotten himself thrown out of the White House the same way an angry Trump threw out Ukraine's President Volodomyr Zelensky for standing up to his bullying last February!
But Maher chose the easy road, the white male privilege road, one that allows him to laugh and trip out with a man whose insecurities and bigoted ways lead him to the raw malevolence that he propagates on a daily basis! A privilege that allows Maher to say “there has to be a way…other than hating each other every minute…” when the policy level hate from this hateful president doesn't impact his own rich white male bottom line!
2004 picture of Maher and Trump. It must be nice to smile, laugh, and kick it with your supposed ideological “enemy”…
And just as a I began today's Hobbservations with an old school Ice Cube quote, I will end with another:"I was taught, 'see a fool, use a fool'..." President Trump, like authoritarians in all ages, desperately wants to be liked by the media no matter how much he seeks to suppress honest coverage of his worst instincts; Maher just happens to be the latest useful tool for Trump and the MAGA minions to pursue that goal.
All I could think of while listening to Maher recount his time spent with trump was " That's mighty white of you" ...... Brother Malcolm was totally correct!
"The white liberal differs from the white conservative only in one way: the liberal is more deceitful than the conservative. The liberal is more hypocritical than the conservative. Both want power, but the white liberal is the one who has perfected the art of posing as the Negro's friend and benefactor; and by winning the friendship, allegiance, and support of the Negro, the white liberal is able to use the Negro as a pawn or tool in this political "football game" that is constantly raging between the white liberals and white conservatives."
Reading this was so spot on it reminded me of thoughts I didn’t even know I had. It’s was a delightful surprise of ideas that took slightly unexpected twists to illuminate a whole new perspectives in me. Well done!