Comedian Bill Maher was the guest of honor at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night. But President Trump’s presence wasn’t far away.
Just moments after Mr. Maher began to accept the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Matt Friend, a leading impersonator of the president, took to the stage and, in Mr. Trump’s voice, joked that he would accept the award himself.
Mr. Trump was a punchline for other comedians and entertainers, including Whitney Cummings, Jay Leno and Woody Harrelson.
For the most part, the barbs weren’t particularly biting. Ms. Cummings, for instance, said that under Mr. Trump’s influence, the Kennedy Center would host “white ‘Hamilton.’”
And once Mr. Friend left the stage, Mr. Maher largely steered clear of hitting the president. The commentary was nonetheless notable for unfolding in an iconic performing arts venue that Mr. Trump has gone to extraordinary lengths to bend to his favor, leaving its future in the coming years uncertain.
Accepting the award, Mr. Maher derided extremes in both political parties, rejecting what he called “groupthink.”
“If you hang around long enough and create something important enough, everyone hates you at some point,” Mr. Maher said.
The ceremony in the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall wasn’t purely political. There were plenty of jokes about Mr. Maher’s fondness for marijuana, his rejection of organized religion and his penchant for controversy, including comments he made shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that led to the cancellation of his television show, “Politically Incorrect.”
But the future of the Kennedy Center hung most prominently over the event.
Shortly after Mr. Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, the Republican president fired much of the center’s leadership and installed a board largely composed of allies. It named Mr. Trump as chairman and his name was added to the building’s iconic facade, prompting a legal battle that became a proxy fight over the extent of the president’s power.
Mr. Trump later said the Kennedy Center would close in July for a two-year renovation. But U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper upended those plans in May by ruling that Mr. Trump’s name was illegally added to the building, ordering it removed. The judge also has blocked the closure.
Mr. Trump’s name has come down from the building, in compliance with the judge’s order. But the part of the building once covered with letters spelling the president’s name is now shrouded in a tarp. The full closure is on hold. Lawyers for the Kennedy Center have said they are not planning for now to build out programming.
Judge Cooper has asked for an update next month on how long the tarp will remain on the building. For now, the final event scheduled for the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall is “The Freedom Gathering: A Musical Celebration” on July 3.
The legal fight has turned into a saga that at points became fodder for jokes at the Twain gala. At one point, Mr. Harrelson joked “we fixed that” in a nod to the court order calling for Mr. Trump’s name to be removed from the building.
Ahead of the ceremony, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Mr. Trump “wants to make this building sensational.”
But others were more skeptical. As he walked the red carpet ahead of the ceremony, Mr. Leno said Mr. Trump’s moves at the Kennedy Center were both “hilarious” and about “vanity.”
“It’s not a war,” he said. “It’s not people getting killed. It’s not antisemitism. It’s a silly thing covering a name. I mean what’s funnier than that? I mean it’s just like, you know it’s high school with money.”
Friend said he felt there was a “hunger games vibe” as he entered the building.
“It’s crazy,” he said of the changes Mr. Trump has pushed for.
Given Mr. Trump’s sway over the Kennedy Center, Mr. Maher’s selection for the award was notable because the two men have long had a fraught relationship.
Before he entered politics, Mr. Trump filed a $5 million lawsuit against Mr. Maher in 2013 for breach of contract. Appearing on Mr. Leno’s “The Tonight Show,” Mr. Maher said he would give $5 million to the charity of Mr. Trump’s choice if Mr. Trump could prove he was not “the spawn of his mother having sex with an orangutan.”
Mr. Trump claimed that when he provided his birth certificate, Mr. Maher did not pay up, prompting the lawsuit. Mr. Trump ended up dropping it.
The Trump-Maher relationship exploded again earlier this year, when the president claimed on social media that he wasted time sitting down for a meal with the comedian last year. Mr. Lutnick noted that Mr. Trump had written out all the critical comments he’d made about Mr. Maher over the years and autographed the document.
“You’ve got to be able to laugh at it,” Mr. Lutnick said. “The president can laugh at it. Bill Maher can laugh at it. And that’s what makes tonight great.”
Mr. Maher hosted Vice President J.D. Vance on his show heading into the weekend. Mr. Vance, who is promoting a book, said he watches the show and laughed at Mr. Maher’s monologue “even though you were making fun of me.” During the interview, Mr. Maher pressed Mr. Vance on the Iran war, immigration enforcement and election conspiracy theories.
“You guys have two outcomes that an election can be,” Mr. Maher told Mr. Vance. “Either we win, or they cheated. That s—- has to stop.”
The Twain prize ceremony will air on Netflix on July 21.
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