Salena Zito DROPS Broken, Bitter Old Crank John Cleese For His Shameful Trump Assassination Post

It is unfortunate and pathetic when comedians turn into unfunny, broken mockeries of their former selves. 

Howard Stern is a great example. While he was never for everyone, there is no question that Stern was a very funny DJ when he broke out in the 1980s in Washington, DC. Now, he is just a bitter crone who only exists to make Joe Biden and Kamala Harris sound intelligent and to scold anyone who isn’t as neurotically germophobic as he is. Even Stern’s wife finds him insufferable. (This writer’s very first article for Twitchy).

But FAR more tragic than Stern is the decline and fall of John Cleese. One of the legends of Monty Python, Cleese and his troupe left an indelible comedic imprint on multiple generations, from Boomers to Gen X to Millennials. 

But then the TDS set in.

These days, Cleese doesn’t even bother trying to make comedy. Nearly his entire X existence is retweeting the worst of the worst, like The Lincoln Project, Occupy Democrats, and the Protect Kamala Harris account. And when he is not doing that, he is tweeting out his own gems, like this one: 

Is it a good idea to hold a major event like the FIFA World Cup in a country where the Rule of Law no longer exists https://t.co/3yhmLN7yr2

— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) January 10, 2026

Really? REALLY? 

Bear in mind that Cleese still lives in the UK, where Keir Starmer’s government arrests tens of thousands of people a year for social media ‘hate speech.’ 

And he wants to lecture us about the rule of law? 

Yesterday, however, Cleese truly went beyond the pale, claiming that the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, was faked. 

Looks staged https://t.co/aLCRLbVptW

— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) January 12, 2026

Trump Assassination Truthers are some of the most repugnant of all X accounts. They ignore that Corey Comperatore was killed that day, and two others were hospitalized. All because they hate Trump. 

Thankfully, Salena Zito, who was at the Bulter rally, only a few feet from where Trump was shot, put Cleese in his place with a devastating reply.

I was 4 feet away. I saw a man die in front of me.

— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) January 12, 2026

Zito even wrote a book about the harrowing experience, Butler: The Untold Story of the Near Assassination of Donald Trump and the Fight for America’s Heartland.

We’d be happy to buy a copy for Cleese, but we doubt he’d read it. He’s too broken. 

Plenty of others denounced Cleese for his disgraceful comment. 

Go say that to Corey Comperatore’s family. In person. On camera.

Do it, you utter coward. https://t.co/3kxD89W9p6

— alexandriabrown (@alexthechick) January 13, 2026

He won’t. 

Do you think the fatality, and other victims that day were mere props???
Trying thinking of real life, beyond the faux constructs of your profession. That may help you avoid looking foolish like this. https://t.co/RJdsr03zSm

— Brad Slager: CNN+ Lifetime Subscriber (@MartiniShark) January 13, 2026

It’s definitely time for someone who cares about Cleese to take his phone away from him. 

He hasn’t always been quite as deranged as Rob Reiner was regarding Trump, but he’s been closing the gap quickly, and this tweet might have erased that gap altogether. 

Well it happened on a stage, but I assure you it’s as real as the man who lost his life that day shielding his family from bullets.

— Gator Gar (@yalligatorgar) January 12, 2026

Comperatore’s courage that day will never be forgotten, no matter how many unhinged lunatics like Cleese try to forget him.

An innocent man DIED. Corey Comperatore was a husband/father who was executed.

I have LOVED you since I was a kid. Passed that love to my children.

But never meet your heroes because you are a GARBAGE HUMAN BEING.
I will pray for you because I literally can’t even.

— Kristen Lamb (@KristenLambTX) January 13, 2026

If Cleese had any decency in him, he would have deleted the tweet and apologized to Comperatore’s family. 

Instead, he doubled down, reposting and even MORE vile take from a horrible person named Tim Hannan, who claimed that Trump has sexually assaulted children. (We will not post that tweet here, but we will provide the link.)

You should be ashamed of yourself https://t.co/3KsQ6qZ8Ny

— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) January 13, 2026

Wtf is wrong with you? A man, a father, was murdered. My God, the respect and admiration so many of us had for you as an artist, a creator. This is beneath you. It’s beneath any decent person. You should be ashamed of yourself.

— Ralph L Santovenia 38/100 (@Joker961) January 13, 2026

Should be. Won’t be. 

pic.twitter.com/Ax6rQ6NOUk

— Fuzzy Chimp 🇺🇸🍌 (@fuzzychimpcom) January 12, 2026

Young John Cleese would hate the person that elderly John Cleese has become. 

What a stupid and monstrous thing to say. https://t.co/9ajWWocWI3

— Marc Thiessen 🇺🇸❤️🇺🇦🇹🇼🇮🇱 (@marcthiessen) January 13, 2026

Monstrous is the perfect word. 

That Cleese could even think such a thing, let alone post it in a public forum, belies a complete loss of humanity. 

We will always remember fondly the Cleese who helped bring us hilarious moments in our lifetimes from Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, A Fish Called Wanda, and so much more. 

Sadly, that man does not exist anymore. Just this sad, pathetic, broken shell of his former self. 

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