Jimmy Fallon mocked President Donald Trump‘s shifting messaging on Iran during his opening monologue on The Tonight Show, joking that the administration appeared to be “out of ideas” and should try “pinning the war on Dr. Anthony Fauci.”
Referring to Trump’s Camp David Cabinet meeting, where the president discussed Iran after recent diplomatic and military developments, Fallon told viewers, “I’m not saying that they’re out of ideas, but the best option they came up with was pinning the war on Dr. Fauci.”
He added, “Yeah, the war in Iran hasn’t been going well and Trump’s looking for solutions.”
Fallon then shifted to Trump’s explanation for nixing the strikes.
“Meanwhile, on Saturday, Trump announced that he called off strikes on Iran because the ‘perimeters of a deal’ had been agreed to,” Fallon said. “Yeah, a couple months ago, he had the outline of a deal and before that, he had the framework of a deal. I think the real news is that he has a thesaurus.”
The Reflecting Pool jokes
Fallon also joked about the controversy surrounding the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool after the Justice Department concluded the damage stemmed from construction problems rather than vandalism.
“Trump claimed someone used a knife to quickly cut the pool liner the length of three football fields,” Fallon joked. “I can barely use a knife to cut open my Amazon box.”
He followed with another punchline, “At this point, Trump’s thinking about draining the water, covering it in green felt and turning it into a Reflecting Pool table.”
Fallon then tied the story to the Iran conflict, saying, “Yeah, we might be asking too much of Trump to reopen the Strait of Hormuz when he can’t even reopen the pool in his backyard,” referring to the Reflecting Pool’s ongoing renovation problems.
The Camp David meeting
Fallon’s jokes followed developments over the weekend, when Trump announced on Truth Social that he had called off a planned large-scale strike on Iran.
Trump said he called off the planned strikes after the “parameters of a deal” had been agreed upon, adding that Middle Eastern leaders had asked the United States to delay military action while negotiations continued.
Trump said he agreed to the request “for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran,” on the condition that an agreement be reached quickly. He said the proposed terms included the “Immediate, Complete and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT” and “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”
Iran disputed Trump’s account, calling Trump’s claim that Tehran requested a pause “simply a new lie,” while saying Iranian armed forces remained “on high alert and ready for any eventuality.”
Mockery over shifting Iran messaging
Jokes about Iran have become a recurring theme in Fallon’s monologues about the conflict.
After Trump referred to the fighting as both a “war” and an “excursion” during a Cincinnati interview, telling a journalist, “It’s an excursion that will keep us out of a war,” Fallon compared the wording to shopping at “IKEA with spouse.”
In earlier monologues, he also mocked Trump’s description of the campaign as a “short-term excursion,” joking it was “the first war to be described like a day of apple-picking,” and comparing it to “when your mom says she’s doing a super-quick Target run, then ends up stuck in the store for 30 years.”
Jimmy Kimmel has also mocked the administration’s handling of the conflict, including Trump’s ceasefire announcement and the reported search for alternative negotiators after Iran rejected Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
“He announced that at the request of Pakistan, which has been facilitating negotiations, he was giving Iran two weeks to live. This is how it goes every single time,” the comedian said.