Bill Maher receives Mark Twain Prize as Kennedy Center faces upheaval

Bill Maher received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center on Sunday, even as the Washington arts venue remained caught in a legal and political fight over Donald Trump’s remaking of the institution. The honor, created in 1998, recognizes major contributions to humor and commentary, and Maher joined a list that includes Conan O’Brien, Dave Chappelle, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Letterman, Carol Burnett and Tina Fey.

Maher framed the award as a meaningful comparison to Mark Twain, the writer known for attacking pretension and refusing to line up neatly with one camp. That fit the prize’s long-running emphasis on comedians whose work has shaped national debate as much as entertainment, from late-night television to stand-up and scripted comedy.

The ceremony also underscored how sharply the Kennedy Center’s public role has changed since Trump returned to office in January 2025. He overhauled the center’s leadership, installed a board largely made up of allies and named himself chairman, turning the institution into a test case for presidential influence over the arts. The president’s name was then added to the building’s facade, setting off a legal battle that has become a proxy fight over executive power and cultural control in Washington.

Trump did not attend the event. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was the most prominent administration figure in the room, alongside other political allies, Democrats, entertainers and public figures, a mix that reflected the Kennedy Center’s uneasy position between elite performance venue and political flashpoint.

That tension hung over a prize meant to celebrate satire, dissent and sharp public commentary. The Kennedy Center was honoring one of television’s most polarizing comedians at the same time it was wrestling with questions about its own gatekeepers, its donor base and how much room remains for institutions that once tried to stand above partisan politics.

A federal judge later ordered Trump’s name removed from the building and blocked a planned closure, leaving the center’s programming and identity unsettled. For Maher, the prize capped a career built on provocation. For the Kennedy Center, it served as another public reminder that its stage is now part of the wider struggle over who gets to define American culture.