&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "It was not a fake news! Bill Maher will receive Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize")
Surprise! Bill Maher will be honoured with the Kennedy Centre’s Mark Twain Prize. Meher, a strong critic of US President Donald Trump, has been named as the recipient of the prestigious award for American Humour. The news comes after the White House last week dismissed the reports as “fake news.”
On March 20, The Atlantic reported that Maher would receive the Mark Twain Prize. Soon after, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said,“This is fake news. Bill Maher will not be getting this award”
Despite calling it fake news, on Thursday (March 26), the Kennedy Centre, now controlled by Trump, announced the honour. Maher, who hosts HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, will receive the 27th Mark Twain Prize for American Humour. He will be presented with the honour on June 28, 2026, at the Trump Kennedy Centre Concert Hall.
“Thank you to the Mark Twain people: I just had the award explained to me, and apparently it’s like an Emmy, except I win,” said Bill Maher. “I’d just like to say that it is indeed humbling to get anything named for a man who’s been thrown out of as many school libraries as Mark Twain.”
After it was reported that Meher would be the recipient of the award, not only the White House secretary, but also Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, wrote in a post on social media that the story was “literally FAKE NEWS”.
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The White House has not released any statement as of now.
Before Maher, this award has been bestowed to many acclaimed comedians in the world such as Steve Martin, George Carlin and Eddie Murphy. In 2025, Conan O'Brien was honoured with the award.
Maher has been a sharp critic of Donald Trump and has often mocked his policies and statements. Among their many clashes, the most talked-about incident occurred when Bill Maher joked that Trump might be the son of an orangutan and offered to donate $5 million to charity if Trump could prove that he wasn’t. In response, Trump threatened to sue Maher, seeking the $5 million donation he had proposed.
Trump is now likely to skip the ceremony where Maher will be honoured.
