Bill Maher Admits He May Quit ‘Real Time’ Because of Trump

Bill Maher is so tired of talking about president-elect Donald Trump that he may quit his long-running HBO show Real Time.

The host made the statement on a recent episode of his Club Random podcast while talking with guest Jane Fonda. In the episode, which was recorded before the 2024 election results, Maher admitted he was “sh*****g his pants” over Trump winning a second term in office.

“It’s hard to believe,” he said. “I mean, I may quit because I don’t want to do another” four years talking about Trump. “I did Trump. I did all the Trump stuff before anybody. I called him a con man before anybody. I did. He’s a mafia boss. I was the one who said he wasn’t going to concede the election. I’ve done it.”

When Fonda asked why Trump is “so hostile to Jimmy Kimmel and not you,” Maher responded that the former Apprentice host is “very hostile to me.”

“He tweets about me every week,” Maher shared. “Every week he accidentally watches my show and then [writes], ‘Low ratings, loser.’”

Maher has hosted Real Time since 2003, recently wrapping up the 22nd season. The show airs weekly on HBO and features a panel of guests who discuss current events in politics and the media. Back in March, HBO confirmed it had picked up Real Time for at least two more seasons.

Fonda told Maher he should try to “find a new thing to do and not do Trump,” but Maher explained why this would be impossible.

“The show is the politics,” he stated. “There’s no other thing, and he’s [Trump] going to dominate the news like he always does.”

This isn’t the first time Maher has hinted at winding down his career. Earlier this year, he said he was considering calling it quits on his standup comedy career.

“That leads me to something I feel nervous about telling you… After this year, I’m going to stop doing [standup],” he told Jerry Seinfeld on an episode of Club Random in May. “I could go back. I don’t want to make a big announcement or something. I’m doing a special at the end of the year. It’ll be my 13th for HBO. That’s a lot.”

However, he didn’t commit either way, saying, “After 40 years, that’s why I don’t want to make an announcement like, ‘This is my final…’ I might change my mind. It might be like cutting off a limb, and I have to go back to it.”