Bill Maher roasts Trump over $400M “souvenir” plane from Qatar on 'Real Time' (2025)

Bill Maher isn’t letting Donald Trump’s recent Middle East visit fly under the radar—especially after the former president came home with what Maher is calling a high-priced “souvenir.”

During Friday’s opening monologue on Real Time with Bill Maher, the longtime host turned his attention to a head-scratching headline: Trump allegedly accepted a $400 million plane from Qatar.

“You know, when you travel, you like to leave with a souvenir, right? So he got a $400 million plane,” Maher quipped. “They gave him a $400 million plane, which he accepted.”

Maher joined a growing wave of critics mocking the supposed gift, which has sparked widespread ridicule this week. But Maher wasn’t done skewering the optics of the situation—or the hypocrisy he sees in the response.

“This has to be the ultimate ‘If Obama did it,’” Maher continued, highlighting the double standard in political punditry when it comes to Trump’s actions versus those of his predecessors.

And then came the punchline.

“If Obama did it, Fox News would be endlessly calling it ‘Allah Force One,’” Maher said, drawing laughs from the audience.

Of course, Maher acknowledged that the plane wouldn’t actually qualify as Air Force One. As he explained, the aircraft would need extensive retrofitting to meet presidential security protocols—something that’s unlikely to happen before Trump leaves office.

“So then it would have to be private, which would be illegal, but you know it doesn’t matter,” Maher added, throwing up his hands in faux defeat at the idea that Trump continues to avoid consequences for behavior others would be skewered for.

While Maher is no stranger to mocking Trump, his own name recently made headlines when he had dinner with the former president back in March—a meeting that didn’t sit well with some, including Curb Your Enthusiasm creator Larry David. In a New York Times parody titled My Dinner With Adolf, David took a comedic swipe at Maher, drawing criticism of his own.

Maher later pushed back, calling the joke “offensive to Jewish people.” David is Jewish himself.

The dinner, however, doesn’t seem to have blunted Maher’s usual Trump takes. In an earlier episode, Maher took aim at Trump’s economic policies and how they’ve impacted the holidays for American families.

And now, according to Maher, Trump controls a small fleet: the two official Air Force Ones, his own Trump-branded jet, and this controversial “gift” from Qatar.

“Everybody else, still only $3 and 10 pencils,” Maher concluded.

During his “New Rule” segment, which you can watch below, Maher blasted Americans for being hypocrites and deciding what to like and what not to like based on the other political party’s interests.

The HBO host used electric vehicles as an example, pointing out that liberals used to love electric cars and now they have become a symbol of right-wing peacocking.