John Cleese ignites controversy comparing Trump to Hitler, regrets "poor joke"

Cleese has graced the screen for over fifty years, and he is best known for his work with the satirical group behind series such as "Monty Python's Flying Circus" from the late ’60s and early ’70s, and movies like "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", "Life of Brian", and "The Meaning of Life by Monty Python".

Younger audiences may recognize him as Nearly Headless Nick from the Harry Potter films. Cleese's most recent appearance was in Roman Polanski's “The Palace”, which was seen by a limited audience due to its removal from theaters following negative reviews.

The 84-year-old comedian has maintained his sharp, satirical edge, which he also puts to use in his private life. This time, and not for the first time, his target was Donald Trump. According to Deadline, Cleese made a controversial comparison between the former US President and Adolf Hitler. He communicated his inappropriate joke, as he later referred to it, through a post on the X platform on Wednesday, December 27 Eastern Time.

"Five reasons why Hitler was better than Trump:

1. Fought for his country

2. Never used a teleprompter

3. Was kind to dogs

4. Wrote his own books

5. Never played golf

6. Wasn't a big, fat slob

Five reasons why Trump is better than Hitler:

1. Doesn't practice genocide

2. Has nicer hair

3.

4.

5."

This was Cleese's post, which quickly garnered over 1.8 million views, was forwarded 1.6 thousand times and received just under 13 thousand "likes".

Several users responded both in criticism and approval of Cleese's bold comparison. One comment correctly identified a problem: "It looks like you're saying you prefer Hitler over Trump."

Only a few minutes after this incident, Cleese expressed regret for his previous post, acknowledging it was a poor joke, particularly on Boxing Day, a holiday celebrated in the UK and many other countries the day after Christmas.

Regardless of the backlash, Cleese continued with further remarks; later he wrote, "Both have a funny way of moving," referring to a notorious Monty Python comedy sketch.