Colman Domingo Roasts Donald Trump's Cognitive Exams and Elon Musk's 'Odyssey' Outrage on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!'

Colman Domingo used his Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest-hosting turn to connect two reliably combustible late-night subjects: President Donald Trump and trillionaire Elon Musk.

During his monologue, the Euphoria actor took aim at Musk’s plan to make what he has described as a “historically accurate” version of The Odyssey. The Tesla chief has criticized Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of the Greek epic, including its casting, as “woke,” despite the film’s clear box-office momentum.

“Elon Musk is planning to create what he calls a ‘historically accurate’ version of The Odyssey using his Grok AI,” Domingo said.

“Of course, this is all because Elon and his musketeers are upset over the diversity casting of The Odyssey. And I don’t want to get technical here, but you can’t make a historically accurate version of something that is totally made-the-f----up,” he continued.

“I mean, The Odyssey is fiction, you know, like The Hunger Games or the president’s cognitive exams,” he joked.

Trump has repeatedly touted his performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, saying in a May 31 Truth Social post that he had received “a perfect 30 out of 30” and claiming he had achieved perfect scores on four such tests.

“Late-night monologues work because they hand the audience permission to laugh at something they are already anxious about,” said Amore Philip, founder of Apples and Oranges Public Relations.

“A guest host like Colman Domingo can take a culture-war flashpoint, in this case a fight over historical accuracy in a film, and reframe it as absurd. That lowers the temperature while still landing a point. Comedy becomes the pressure valve,” Philip explained.

Domingo also joked that Musk may deserve “a little compassion.”

“This is a tough time for him. Helen of Troy is a beautiful Black woman,” Domingo said, referring to Lupita Nyong’o’s casting. “And this week, Jimmy Kimmel is a beautiful Black man.”

“Culture-war reactions to fictional works are irresistible comedy targets because the stakes are somehow both huge and tiny at once,” Philip noted.

“People arguing passionately over a movie's details is inherently funny, and it lets a host comment on politics without delivering a partisan lecture. The fiction is the safe on-ramp to the real subject,” she added.

“Figures like Trump and Musk endure as punchlines for one communications reason: they are highly recognizable and highly reactive,” Philip said. “A durable punchline needs a shared reference point and a predictable response, and both reliably provide the reaction that completes the joke.”