President Donald Trump erupted in an outright meltdown aboard Air Force One, a tirade that grew into his longest post ever on Truth Social, the platform he founded. New details have now emerged about the president's rage, which was set off by comedian Bill Maher's opening monologue on his HBO show.

According to a report by The New York Times, which the Daily Beast followed up on Thursday, former White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was scheduled to appear on Maher's long-running HBO program, Real Time, and Trump apparently tuned in. The Times report examined the mood inside the White House heading into the midterm elections. Every episode of the show opens with Maher's monologue, followed by a single guest and then a panel discussion. The feud reignited after the comedian mocked Trump in his opener, and the president was furious. Trump then dictated his lengthy rant to aide Natalie Harp, who typed it up for him — a rare glimpse of the mechanics behind the president's social media posts.

The anger traces back to Maher's effort to secure an invitation to the White House for a dinner with Trump on Oct. 15. According to Trump, Maher wanted to have him on his show. While both men were publicly polite about the encounter, the gloves came off once Trump watched Maher attack him on HBO's airwaves. Notably, Paramount's David Ellison — the son of one of Trump's biggest owners — is set to acquire HBO and many of its channels, as Forbes has reported.

Trump actually complimented Maher after their meeting, saying the comedian liked him more than people understood. Maher, for his part, defended attending the dinners despite criticism, arguing that critics should engage directly with the president rather than avoid him.

But that apparent détente unraveled when Maher welcomed the former White House press secretary as his guest. Maher joked that Republicans were barely mentioning Trump in their campaign advertisements and that billboards outside his rallies now advertised "Lee Greenwood and Friends." He also mocked Trump's praise of men's appearances, including that of Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), joking that his own four-hour dinner with Trump had produced no compliments.

Then he cracked: "I could not have been treated better if I was Russian."

Trump responded with a slew of all-caps insults and allegations that Maher was stoned during his White House visit, an accusation unlikely to surprise anyone who has watched Maher's show. "I never watched your show much," Trump wrote, before promising never to watch again.

The episode complicates Maher's recent argument that Trump can handle direct criticism. On his Club Random podcast, Maher had encouraged people unhappy with the president's policies, including the war, to tell him so in person, suggesting Trump needed more engagement from critics, not less. That is how the 1,321-word post came about.

Ultimately, a friendly dinner and public praise did not prevent Trump from lashing out in anger when Maher resumed the mockery that is central to his role as a political comedian.