Kennedy Center announces Bill Maher will receive Mark Twain Prize after White House called that “fake news”

Washington — Television host, comedian and satirist Bill Maher will receive the 27th Mark Tain Prize for American Humor this year, the Kennedy Center announced Thursday, days after the White House called reports that Maher would receive the prize “fake news.” 

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, whose board is filled with the president’s allies, said Maher will receive the prize on June 28, shortly before the venue shuts down for roughly two years for renovations. Maher, who has been critical of President Trump but also had a private dinner at the White House in March 2025, said it is “humbling to get anything named for a man who’s been thrown out of as many school libraries as Mark Twain.” Mr. Trump has been critical of Maher as well, and posted on social media last month that “it was a total waste of time for me to have this jerk at the White House.”

“For nearly three decades, the Mark Twain Prize has celebrated some of the greatest minds in comedy,” said Roma Daravi, the Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations. “For even longer, Bill has been influencing American discourse — one politically incorrect joke at a time.”

When the Atlantic first reported Maher would receive the prize, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told multiple news outlets, “This is fake news. Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award.” And White House communications director posted on X March 20 that the story was “literally FAKE NEWS.” 

The Mark Twain prize is meant for peopled who have had an impact on America in ways like Samuel Clements, a.k.a., Mark Twain, the Kennedy Center says. The prize was first granted in 1998.