For more than three decades, Bill Maher has been delivering monologues on the most important political topics of the day. After previously hosting Politically Incorrect, he now regularly expresses his opinions as the star of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. Not only does he speak about the hot topics of the day, Maher is willing to make shocking jokes, like when he recently compared Donald Trump to Taylor Swift.
Not only does Maher regularly speak about the most notable celebrities, but he has also spent the last several decades of his life speaking to them, including controversial politicians. With that in mind, it can be fascinating to see the talk show host speak with the same people that he has spent a lot of time calling out in public. Even still, it is shocking to learn that after many years of him being "very hard on" an extremely notable politician, he now wants to have them as a guest on his podcast.
Bill Maher wants George W. Bush as a guest on his Club Random podcast
Between 2001 and 2009, George W. Bush served in office as the 43rd President of the United States. Throughout the same time period, Bill Maher consistently called Bush out in public, first as the host of Politically Incorrect and then through numerous media appearances. That could have made the fact that Maher welcomed the former President's cousin, Billy Bush, on his podcast in October 2025. The most interesting aspect of the resulting podcast discussion came when the two men spoke about the former President Bush.
During the podcast episode, Maher spent some time reflecting on the comments he'd made about President Bush. Most notably, he expressed that he'd grown to believe that he could have been "more reasonable" with his criticisms of President Bush.
"I also have things much more in perspective. He should know that yes, I probably, looking back, could have been more reasonable."
Soon after he made that remark, Maher's guest asked him if he would like him to pass a message along to President Bush. In response, Maher expressed that the former President should know that he now recognizes how critical he was of him when he was in office. While Maher admitted that he believed he shouldn't have been critical of everything President Bush did, he also explicitly stated that he didn't regret the overall tenor of his past remarks.
"First of all, I was very hard on him... You know, I was hard. I'm not taking it back. I wasn't for the invasion of Iraq or, you know, I mean, just the basic Republican policies that he championed were not exactly my cup of tea."
As their conversation continued, Billy Bush encouraged Maher to convince President Bush to appear on his podcast, arguing that the former politician is an "easy hang" and fun to be around. "He's such an easygoing cat."In response to Billy Bush's encouragement, Maher made the shocking statement that he would like to have President Bush appear during an episode of his "Club Random" podcast.
"I would love to talk to him. I really would. "Bill Maher
The fact that Maher was so critical of President Bush when he was in office is the main reason why his enthusiasm to have him on his podcast is surprising. However, it is interesting to note that Maher's criticisms of former President Bush continued long after he left office.
For example, a 2020 video on Real Time with Bill Maher's YouTube page showed Maher arguing that President Bush would have done a horrible job if he were in office during the COVID-19 pandemic. "I don’t know for a fact that Bush would have [expletive] this up too. Not as bad. But he would’ve."