Elizabeth Blair

After the Atlantic magazine cited anonymous sources saying that Bill Maher would be receiving the prestigious Mark Twain Prize, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt called it fake news.

But the Kennedy Center has announced Maher will indeed be getting the Twain Award.

The host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher has visited with Trump at the White House, but he has also been critical of both parties, and Trump in particular.

Trump recently called Maher a lightweight on social media.

In a statement from the Kennedy Center, Maher said, It is indeed humbling to get anything named for a man who's been thrown out of as many school libraries as Mark Twain.

Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.

The stock market is going down and we've lost a lot of jobs.

It's like his even more evil twin replaced his usual evil twin.

Richard Grenell has long had a reputation as a brash loyalist to President Trump.

He served as the U.S.

ambassador to Germany during Trump's first term.

Grenell's leadership at the Kennedy Center has been marked by controversy.

Among the artists who canceled were actor Issa Rae, musician Rhiannon Giddens, and a touring production of Hamilton.

Grenell eliminated the center's social impact division, which built connections with local communities in Washington, D.C.,

Trump announced on social media that pending approval of the center's board of directors, Grinnell will be replaced by Matt Floka, currently the center's vice president for operations.

Trump is the first U.S.

president to chair the Kennedy Center's board.

Elizabeth Blair, NPR News.

HBO Max is home to popular shows like The White Lotus, The Last of Us, and Game of Thrones.

Paramount Plus includes Top Gun, Mission Impossible, and South Park.