Shortly after the White House stated that Bill Maher was not set to receive the Mark Twain Prize, as previously reported, it has now been confirmed that the comedian will receive the award this year. The television host and comedian has publicly disagreed with President Donald Trump on multiple occasions over the past few years.

Bill Maher gets confirmed as Mark Twain Prize Recipient

Bill Maher, the talk show host and comedian who has been a prominent figure in the industry for decades, will be awarded the Mark Twain Prize in 2026. This comes shortly after the White House stated that he would not receive the award.

A report from The Atlantic claimed that Maher would be awarded the Mark Twain Prize this year. However, the White House dismissed the report as “fake news.” The organization later confirmed the news on Thursday, March 26, 2026.

“For nearly three decades, the Mark Twain Prize has celebrated some of the greatest minds in comedy,” Roma Daravi, Vice President of Public Relations, said in a statement about this year’s Mark Twain Prize. She continued, “For even longer, Bill has been influencing American discourse one politically incorrect joke at a time.”

Responding to the honor, Maher said, “Thank you to the Mark Twain people: I just had the award explained to me, and apparently it’s like an Emmy, except I win.” The veteran comedian continued, “I’d just like to say that it is indeed humbling to get anything named for a man who’s been thrown out of as many school libraries as Mark Twain.”

The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor is awarded to individuals who have had a significant impact through humor and satire. It is for people similar to novelist and essayist Mark Twain, whose real name was Samuel Clemens.

Previous recipients of the award include Jonathan Winters, Carl Reiner, Ellen DeGeneres, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Jon Stewart, Kevin Hart, and Adam Sandler, among others.