Bill Maher says he did not expect Trump's calm reaction to midterms

Bill Maher told viewers on Friday that he was caught off guard by President Donald Trump’s demeanor following the 2026 midterm elections. While Maher correctly predicted a favorable outcome for Democrats, he said he did not anticipate the president reacting with such restraint.

During his monologue on Real Time, Maher reviewed a montage of his previous predictions. He noted that other commentators had been hesitant to forecast the results, but he wanted to enjoy the accuracy of his own calls. The element that surprised him most was Trump’s public behavior after the votes were counted.

Maher described Trump congratulating Democrats and praising their performance. The comedian joked about their long-standing feud by asking, “Donnie, are you OK?” He suggested sarcastically that the president sounded unwell and expressed disbelief that Trump was not claiming the election had been rigged.

The president’s tone had shifted recently. In an interview with The New York Times shortly before 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Trump said he was “absolutely willing” to accept the outcome. He also expressed interest in cooperating with Democrats, suggesting they could reach an agreement on some issues.

However, the president’s response was not uniformly soft. In a separate post on Truth Social, Trump argued that his presence on the ballot would have secured a landslide victory. Despite this, Maher described the president as “amazingly humble” in the aftermath of the results.

Maher’s comments on their feud referenced a recent exchange that escalated when Trump published a lengthy social media attack. In that post, the president called the comedian a “complete and total loser” and disclosed details about a recent White House dinner. Maher had addressed the attack on the Oct. 30 edition of the show.

Returning to the election, Maher joked that he had expected Trump to be filing lawsuits against individual voters and arresting election workers by now. He also noted Trump’s claim about having numerous Democratic friends, joking that the sentiment might bring Maher another White House invitation, which would make it his third visit.