John Cleese apologises for comparing Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler

27 December, 2023

John Cleese

John Cleese has apologised after joking in a social media post about a list of ways in which Adolf Hitler was “preferable” to Donald Trump. 

The Monty Python comedian had posted the original message on his X account in the early hours of Wednesday (December 27), before adding the follow-up apology four minutes later. 

“Five ways that Hitler was preferable to Trump,” read the first tweet. “1. He fought for his country. 2. He never used a teleprompter. 3. He was nice to dogs. 4. He wrote his own books. 5. He never played golf. 6. He wasn’t a big fat slob.” 

“Five ways Trump is preferable to Hitler,” it continued. “1. He doesn’t practice genocide. 2. He has nicer hair.” The post then continued by listing the numbers 3, 4 and 5, followed by blank spaces. 

Cleese swiftly followed up on the post with a second, writing: “I would like to apologise for my last tweet. It was a very bad joke, especially on Boxing Day.” 

Cleese went on to engage with some of the replies to the original tweet. After one poster said they had screenshot the tweet, Cleese wrote, “receiving insults from the literal minded is like being booed by a flock of sheep.” 

Another asked him why he would make the comparison, to which he said: “Because I’ve never tried to amuse the simple-minded. There are plenty of comics who do, and you will enjoy them.” 

Cleese started hosting his show The Dinosaur Hour on GB News in October, although he revealed that he had been struggling to secure guests to discuss “woke issues”. 

“There’s a good part to woke, and a bad part,” Cleese said at the time. “The good part is that it’s good and kind to be nice to people. Some people think that’s all it is. There’s also quite a threatening side, almost a totalitarian side.” 

Earlier this year, Cleese announced plans to reboot Fawlty Towers with his daughter Camilla. The new series would focus on the relationship between Basil and his daughter as they manage a hotel together in the Caribbean. A release date has yet to be announced. 

He later commented that the new show had been snubbed by the BBC after saying the broadcaster would not allow him sufficient creative freedom to make it his way. 

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