Bill Maher Mocks Trump's Beijing Visit With Xi Jinping

bill maher mocked President Trump’s state visit to China on Friday night’s edition of Real Time with Bill Maher, focusing on Trump’s meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing. Maher said the meeting looked like a “lovefest” and argued that China knew what Trump liked.

Trump and Xi discussed ways to enhance economic cooperation between the two countries, including expanding market access for American businesses into China and increasing Chinese investment into U.S. industries. Maher used those talks to frame Trump’s visit as a public display of deference rather than distance.

Beijing Meeting With Xi Jinping

Trump met Xi in Beijing during the visit. Over the past year and a half, Trump had been locked in a bitter trade war with China, a backdrop Maher pointed to as he mocked the optics around the trip.

Maher said, “Trump: he hates China, but he loves Xi.” He added, “To say this was a lovefest between these two guys was an understatement.”

He also said, “China knows what Trump likes,” then listed the imagery he said appealed to him: “What does he like? He likes the pomp and the parades, and he likes the red carpet, and there were thousands of children waving American flags.”

Maher's Trade War Jabs

Maher said Xi “bargained like someone who knows he holds the cards now ever since Trump backed down on their big trade war.” He added, “In fact, as a subtle dig, they served orange chicken.”

He also said, “Trump says with Xi, there’s no games with him. It’s getting a little weird, you know?” and quoted Xi as telling his translator, “Tell Trump, don’t catch feelings.” The line tied the monologue back to the personal tone Maher said surrounded the visit.

For viewers, the pointed part is not the joke itself but the setting it targeted: a Beijing meeting built around economic talks, while Maher cast Xi as the sharper negotiator and Trump as the easier audience.