President Donald Trump hosted a dinner Thursday night with singer Kid Rock, HBO host Bill Maher and ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith, according to Rock, who described the gathering during a Friday morning appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”
Rock called the dinner “epic.” He said the four men agreed that “socialism and communism have no place to have a foothold in our government.” The account provided no further details about the discussion or the reason Trump brought the group together.
Rock, whose legal name is Robert Ritchie, said he and Maher had also recently joined Trump for a separate dinner that included UFC President Dana White. Smith was the additional guest at Thursday’s gathering, according to the source account.
The attendees have different public political profiles. Rock is a Trump supporter, while Maher has described himself as liberal and has criticized Democrats and progressive politics as well as Trump. Smith has discussed politics in varied ways across media appearances and platforms.
Smith said he would address the dinner on his podcast Friday night. The source account did not include his comments from that program, or a separate account from Maher or Trump. It therefore does not establish what topics were discussed beyond Rock’s description of the men’s shared view on socialism and communism.
The dinner follows an earlier meal involving Trump and Maher. The source reports that Maher had been critical of Trump before and after that prior meeting. It characterizes Trump’s willingness to dine with critics as notable, but provides no broader evidence about how frequently political leaders meet with people who disagree with them.
The material also offers predictions about how Smith might describe the evening and suggests the dinner could become material for a comedy program. Those are commentary and speculation, not confirmed details about the event. The confirmed account in the supplied material is limited: Rock said he, Maher and Smith dined with Trump Thursday, and Rock characterized the occasion as enjoyable.
