Bill Maher, the comedian whose relationship with President Donald Trump has veered between friendly and antagonistic, will be the 27th recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and the first Twain Prize recipient chosen under Trump’s leadership – despite the fact that, just last week, the White House flatly denied this to be true.
The ceremony will be held on June 28, 2026, in the Kennedy Center Concert Hall.
The White House on Friday denied a report by the Atlantic that Bill Maher has been selected as the next recipient of the Mark Twain Prize under the renamed and remade Trump Kennedy Center. “This is fake news. Bill Maher will NOT be getting this award,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Post.
The Atlantic updated its story on Friday afternoon, adding: “After this story was published, the White House called the Kennedy Center, and made clear that Maher would not receive the prize.”
But on Thursday, the center confirmed Maher was the pick. This reversal was first reported on by Politico.
“This was false reporting at the time of the Atlantic’s reporting, but the situation changed after further conversations took place between the Trump-Kennedy Center and event organizers over the past week,” said a White House administration official who asked for anonymity to speak freely about the back-and-forth.
Several former and current Kennedy Center staffers, speaking on the condition of anonymity last week, told The Washington Post that they had also heard Maher would be the prize’s recipient.
The discrepancy illustrates the cloud of chaos surrounding the Kennedy Center’s current operations. Traditionally, the recipient of the Twain Prize is announced in December or early January and the ceremony is held in March.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Maher is Kennedy Center’s Twain recipient, despite White House denial
Reporting by Travis M. Andrews, Janay Kingsberry, Washington Post / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
