Why Bill Maher Is Perfect Choice for Mark Twain Prize

It wasn’t Fake News after all.

Bill Maher, the host of not one but two iconic talk shows and a stand-up icon, will be your next Mark Twain Prize for Humor recipient.

The Trump-Kennedy Center announced today that Maher, 70,  will join past winners like Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, Bob Newhart, Carl Reiner and Conan O’Brien. The ceremony will be held on June 28 and will be shown later on Netflix.

Maher currently hosts HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” and the “Club Random” podcast.

The comedian made news last year by breaking bread with President Donald Trump after years of excoriating the real estate mogul. The meeting showed Maher another side of Trump, but it didn’t stop him from holding the president’s feet to the political fire.

Maher makes perfect sense as a Mark Twain Prize recipient, although not for his film work. Titles like “D.C. Cab” and “Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death” didn’t earn him the honor.

The comic’s sharp wit, ability to evolve with the times and stay true to the punch line over propaganda did. And, boy, is the latter quality vital in these uncertain times.

Too many comedians have fallen sway to “clapter,” the need to meet audience expectations over their political views. Think Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, John Oliver and other modern comedians.

Not Maher. He routinely challenges fellow progressives who might wish he stuck to skewering conservatives. Oh, he does, but he’s willing to call out his side, too.

That matters.

Maher has also stood tall for free speech over the years, refusing to bow to the woke mob like many of his peers. Hollywood, en masse, cowered as Cancel Culture ravaged the arts community.

Maher stood virtually alone during the cultural scourge, refusing to self-censor and mocking unofficial speech rules.

He endured a slow-motion cancellation of his own in 2001 for suggesting the 9/11 terrorists weren’t cowardly for steering planes into the Twin Towers.

“We have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That’s cowardly … Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it’s not cowardly.”

He made the comments on ABC’s “Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher.” The show couldn’t survive the controversy despite his attempt to walk back the remarks.

Years later, protestors tried to cancel Maher’s December speech at UC Berkeley, the former home for free speech, due to his critical comments about Islam. Maher spoke in 2014 as planned despite the protests.

Perhaps best of all, he has turned “Club Random” into a podcast where all voices are welcome. Yes, Maher remains a liberal joke slinger. He embraces the old-school nature of the word by listening to all voices, not just those with whom he agrees.

The modern Left won’t like Maher’s selection, but on every level that matters it’s a fine, fitting choice.