Bill Maher receives Mark Twain Prize at Kennedy Center

Comedian Bill Maher received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center on Sunday. The award is given for contributions to American humor. Maher said he appreciates the comparison to Mark Twain, stating, “I am at least somewhat like Mark Twain.”

The ceremony included several references to the president. An impersonator appeared on stage shortly after Maher began his acceptance speech and joked in the president’s voice that he would accept the award himself. Performers Whitney Cummings, Jay Leno, and Woody Harrelson also made remarks referencing the president.

’” After the impersonator left the stage, Maher largely avoided direct comments about the president.

Maher addressed the tarp covering the section of the facade where the president’s name had been added. He said, “Only he could think of that.”

The Kennedy Center’s leadership structure changed after the president installed a new board. The president’s name was added to the building’s facade, and a federal judge later ruled that addition illegal and ordered its removal. The same ruling blocked a planned two-year closure that had been announced for July.

The section of the facade once covered by the name is now covered by a tarp. Lawyers for the center have said they are not planning new programming for the time being.

Maher and the president have had prior public exchanges. In 2013 the president filed a $5 million lawsuit against Maher over a comment made on late-night television; the suit was later dropped. Earlier this year the president posted on social media that he regretted a meal shared with Maher the previous year.

A board member noted that the president had compiled a list of his past criticisms of Maher and autographed the document. The board member said, “You’ve got to be able to laugh at it. The president can laugh at it. Bill Maher can laugh at it.