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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →John Cleese posted a provocative comparison of Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump on 27 December 2023. Critics read the joke as suggesting he preferred Hitler; Cleese defended its context in replies, then apologized, calling it “a very bad joke, especially on Boxing Day.” The coverage records competing reactions, not a single interpretation shared by everyone.
What did John Cleese post?
Cleese’s post began with the heading “Five ways that Hitler was preferable to Trump,” then listed six purported advantages: Hitler fought for his country, did not use a teleprompter, was nice to dogs, wrote his own books, did not play golf, and was not “a big fat slob.” It then began a list of ways Trump was preferable to Hitler, naming two: Trump did not practice genocide and had nicer hair. Three further numbered entries were blank, according to PerthNow’s contemporaneous account.
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The structure set up the comparison as a deliberately provocative joke, but its first list included several claims that readers found offensive or disturbing because it framed Hitler as preferable on those points.
Why did the post draw criticism?
Some users called the post disappointing or in poor taste. Others asked directly whether Cleese preferred Hitler to Trump. That question captures the implication critics drew from the comparison; it does not establish Cleese’s private political beliefs.
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The post spread quickly: PerthNow reported more than 750,000 views six hours after it appeared. That is a contemporaneous, time-specific figure, not a current view count.
How did Cleese respond to critics?
In response to a user asking, “So you prefer Hitler to Trump?”, Cleese replied: “I should have thought that was obvious to any idiot. If not to anyone else,” PerthNow reported. He also defended the joke by saying some people found it funny because they had a sense of context, and told critics they could stop following him.
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TheWrap and The Daily Beast also covered the exchange and the criticism. Their accounts, like PerthNow’s, document responses rather than proving that every reader understood the post in the same way.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Did John Cleese apologize?
Yes. Cleese posted an apology after the original message. Euronews reported on 28 December 2023 that the apology followed the original post by four minutes; that interval is its contemporaneous report, not an independently verified platform timestamp. His statement read: “I would like to apologise for my last tweet. It was a very bad joke, especially on Boxing Day.”
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Euronews reported the apology, while PerthNow also reproduced it alongside Cleese’s defense of the joke.
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