John Cleese Sparks Backlash After Joking Hitler Was 'Preferable' to Donald Trump

John Cleese received mixed reactions after making a controversial joke comparing Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler.

The 84-year-old comic took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday, December 26, with a list of ways that the German dictator was allegedly "preferable" to the embattled ex-prez.

"1. He fought for his country 2. He never used a teleprompter 3. He was nice to dogs," Cleese penned. "4. He wrote his own books 5. He never played golf 6. He wasn't a big fat slob."

He followed up the message by sharing "five ways Trump is preferable to Hitler," listing only: "He doesn't practice genocide" and "he has nicer hair," but leaving the last three spots blank.

The comments section was immediately divided by those that thought the joke took things too far and those that supported the Monty Python and the Holy Grail star.

"This is not a good take. At all," one user wrote, while another claimed, "I’ve just lost any respect I had for you. What a disgusting comment."

"Aren’t you supposed to be good at comedy? Because it sounds like you’re worshiping Hitler," a third chimed in, and a fourth added, "I remember when you were funny. So long ago."

Cleese quipped, "Back in the day when you had a sense of humor, perhaps?"

Others supported the actor, telling critics the remark was not meant to be in support of the German dictator.

"People replying like Cleese isn’t a comedian," one penned, while another said, "Reading the comments, I’ve found not many people can read jokes well. You’re a legend, Mr. Cleese!"

"Regardless of being a Trump-lover or a Trump-hater, this was funny," another supporter praised the comic. "And John, besides being a great comedian, reached an age and status where he couldn't care less about what people think. And that's amazing."

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Cleese reposted and replied to many comments, however, he did seemingly offer an apology for the comment later that evening.

"I would like to apologize for my last tweet," he said in a follow-up post to X. "It was a very bad joke, especially on Boxing Day."

This comes after Trump was compared to Hitler after repeatedly claiming immigrants were "poisoning the blood" of the United States. As OK! previously reported, the 77-year-old made the concerning remarks during his Saturday, December 16, rally in Durham, N.H.

"That’s what they’ve done," he told the crowd. "They poison mental institutions and prisons all over the world, not just in South America … but all over the world."

Trump later defended his statements, insisting he knew "nothing about Hitler."

"I’m not a student of Hitler. I never read his works. They say that he said something about blood. He didn’t say it the way I said it either, by the way. It’s a very different kind of a statement," he continued. "What I’m saying when I talk about people coming into our country is they are destroying our country. This country is ... we have prisoners coming in. We have mental patients coming in by the thousands, really by the millions."