Fox News offered an explanation Monday for President Donald Trump’s social media rant against comedian Bill Maher over the weekend. Maher is the longtime host of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the program at the center of the dispute. According to Tim Young, a comedian and media fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, Trump’s outburst—which was reportedly the longest post he has ever written—may have resulted from one simple fact: He had never watched Maher’s show before.

Trump’s weekend post followed a White House dinner he shared with Maher earlier this month, a gathering that, per Trump’s account, also included sports commentator Stephen A. Smith and musician Kid Rock. After the dinner, Trump had told reporters that Maher was “great” and that it “was a very informative dinner.” The friendly remarks stood out given that Maher has been among Trump’s most consistent media critics, regularly taking aim at the president on the show. But shortly after Maher’s HBO program aired Sunday, featuring former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as a guest, Trump’s record-breaking post indicated that his view of the comedian had changed abruptly.

“Let’s talk about this complete and total loser, Bill Maher,” Trump wrote. “He’s got a Low Rated Show on equally Low Rated HBO, which was once, long ago, a Network of Quality and Excitement — But that’s all gone. It’s not 'HOT' anymore!”

Trump continued, “Also, I wanted to tell Bill that he’s a major POTHEAD. He’s got to stop, it’s very bad for his health. He looked like hell this time. Bill was drunk and had alcohol in his hand as he walked through the White House. Stephen A. Smith and Kid Rock came along with him. Overall, I thought it was a good meeting. It didn’t last four hours, it lasted two hours, maybe less, and everybody was happy. We have the timestamps. I learned nothing, and felt it was a waste of time.”

Trump also said Maher’s show had become “worse” since the dinner.

“There were so many other falsehoods Bill spewed, but I won’t waste time in fact checking him. He isn’t worth it. Bill: Don’t call anymore. It’s useless, and tell [producer] Chuck LaBella not to call so much, and say how much you love 'TRUMP,' and want to get together, because you’re a hopeless guy, who is just trying to cater to your small group of 'fans.' You’re also a coward who is afraid to tell the truth about how well our Country is running because of your few ',' and how badly the Dumocrats have done, almost destroying the U.S.A.”

Trump concluded, “You’re not transformative, you’re a Loser! I never watched your show much, but I will never watch it again, because it is nothing more than FAKE NEWS that America, and the World, is unfortunately subjected to.”

Seeking an explanation for Trump’s sudden turn against Maher, Fox News spoke with Young, who said he could identify only one likely reason for the 1,300-word attack.

“I watched Bill Maher’s show this weekend and can’t figure out what set off Trump more than usual. Maher always regularly criticizes Trump,” Young said. “Maybe it’s that Trump watched a full episode for once because Karoline Leavitt was on and realized just how much Maher criticizes him. That’s the only thing I can think happened. The president was friendly and didn’t realize just how much Maher takes cracks at him because he has never seen a full episode until now.”

Whether Maher addresses the post on a future episode of “Real Time” remains to be seen.

Source: Alternet