Trump Humiliated With Wild Epstein Joke at Kennedy Center
The president was the butt of a scathing joke at the venue he tried so hard to rename.
President Donald Trump was the target of jokes on the Kennedy Center stage on Sunday night as one comedian took aim at the president’s questionable connections.
Comedian and TV host Bill Maher was being honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and it wasn’t long until the president’s name was mentioned. The president himself was not in attendance.
Guest speaker and comedian Whitney Cummings was the first to take the stage, and she seized the opportunity to skewer the president, immediately making a reference to Trump’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein.
Comedian Whitney Cummings arrives on the red carpet, on the day comedian Bill Maher receives the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 28, 2026.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
“I actually heard Trump may come tonight but he couldn’t make it,” Cummings said, according to Deadline, adding, “He got caught in sex traffic.”
Trump has denied knowing anything about the late sex offender’s crimes and maintains he was never involved in any wrongdoing, but many have expressed concern about his friendship with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, with whom he was friends for nearly two decades until the pair fell out in the mid-2000s.
Get the best of Obsessed delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Cummings also poked fun at the controversial White House dinner Maher attended alongside Kid Rock and UFC CEO Dana White last year, joking that “seeing Dana White, Donald Trump and Kid Rock all together at the White House really proves there is no God.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment on Cummings’ jokes.

Trump and Epstein enjoyed a long friendship, before it ended sometime in the 2000s.
Davidoff Studios Photography/Getty Images
The joke was among a number of embarrassing moments for the president.
The ceremony was the first event held at the Kennedy Center since a federal judge ruled that Trump’s attempt to change the Center’s name to include his own was unlawful.
In May, U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper struck down the president’s attempt to change the Kennedy Center’s name to The Donald Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on the grounds that he failed to seek congressional approval.
“Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it,” Cooper wrote in his 93-page memo.
The white tarp erected over the center’s name by workers overseeing the removal of Trump’s name from the facade was still in place on Sunday night.
A tarp covers the facade of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, following a federal judge’s order to remove U.S. President Donald Trump's name from the institution, on the day comedian Bill Maher receives the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 28, 2026.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
Jay Leno told reporters that the tarp was “hilarious” as they walked down a red carpet bearing the center’s original name. Maher, meanwhile, labeled it “hysterical.”
Maher spoke to CNN on the red carpet about the insults the president has hurled at him, as well as the White House’s outrage at his being named as the recipient of the Mark Twain Prize and its attempt to block it.
“You know, the last 4 or 5 times he’s been public about me, it’s all back to yelling and screaming,” Maher told CNN’s Camila DeChalus, adding, “I’m this, I’m terrible, I’m a lunatic liberal, I’m a lunatic, I’m a lightweight, I’m a jerk. So we’re back to that. It’s okay.”
Despite that, Maher explained that he’d rather “the channels be open,” and that fighting and yelling are just the president’s “way of talking to people.”
He also joked that he wouldn’t be surprised if the White House attempted to prevent him from receiving the award once more before the show started.
“Anything could happen,” he told CNN.
Comedian Bill Maher arrives on the red carpet, on the day he receives the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 28, 2026.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
Maher and Trump have often clashed in the past, although relations appeared to be improving after the comedian’s dinner at the White House last year.
The truce was short-lived, however, with the president launching multiple attacks against Maher via Truth Social in the intervening months, including describing him as a “highly overrated lightweight” and a “weak and ineffective person.”
A number of politicians from both sides of the aisle were in attendance, including a member of Trump’s Cabinet, who went out of his way to defend Trump.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters of the president’s takeover of the Kennedy Center that he believes Trump is “gonna try his darndest to make this building shine, and I think he’s gonna be successful.”
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Allison Lutnick arrive on the red carpet, on the day comedian Bill Maher receives the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 28, 2026.
Nathan Howard/Reuters
“He’s used to these courts always fighting with him, but in the end he wins, and we all know that.”
Obsessed with pop culture and entertainment? Follow us on Substack and YouTube for even more coverage.
Unlock a year of full access to The Looker and The Daily Beast for $35.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Looker and The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in
Login dialog




ADVERTISEMENT
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…
ADVERTISEMENT