Stephen Colbert ripped into Donald Trump for his baffling inability to answer a simple question about Les Misérables—despite claiming he’s seen the musical multiple times. “What do you mean you don’t know?

President Trump attended the gala opening night performance of Les Miserables at the Kennedy Center Wednesday. The musical glorifies the spirit of the street rioters of the French Revolution. Halfway through the stirring finale, President Trump called in the National Guard to put down the mob.

President Donald Trump 's attendance at a performance of Les Miserables at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, during which he received cheers and boos from sections of the crowd, triggered a wave of jokes and memes on social media.

After the President and the First Lady made a now-rare public appearance together on Wednesday night, Jimmy Kimmel is newly concerned about the state of their marriage. “It was opening night for the new and MAGA-friendly Kennedy Center, led by Donald Trump, their self-appointed chairman of the board,” Kimmel said in his Thursday monologue.

The conversation stems from the president stating he doesn't know if he's more like villain Javert or hero Jean Valjean during a red carpet interview for the musical.

Opening night of “Les Misérables” was meant to celebrate the president’s takeover of the Kennedy Center. But he also was forced to encounter his critics.

After Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment in 2016, Trump supporters rebranded themselves “Les Déplorables”—a pun that became rally branding. Trump embraced it fully, appearing at a Miami event the following week with the slogan projected behind him. “Welcome to all of you deplorables,” he told the crowd.

Stay in the know with a recap of our top stories today. 1. Les Miserables The Arena Spectacular coming to Singapore March 2026, waitlist now open Musical fans, you're in for a treat. Les Miserables The Arena Spectacular - a large-scale version of the acclaimed Les Miserables musical,