Actor Laura Benanti returned to “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Monday, October 20, 2025, reprising her widely popular impersonation of first lady Melania Trump in a sketch that took sharp aim at the Trump administration. The appearance marked another installment in Benanti’s ongoing portrayal of the first lady, a character she has performed since 2016.
The faux FLOTUS wasted no time targeting her husband, President Donald Trump, along with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the memorable hat she wore while meeting Britain’s King Charles III. When Colbert asked about a proposal to rename the Kennedy Center’s opera house in her honor, the character quipped about changing her name to Melania Kennedy.
The sketch took an unexpected turn when Colbert steered the conversation toward Donald Trump’s former associate, late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The fake Melania suddenly claimed to experience technical difficulties. Colbert told her she couldn’t suddenly disappear when things get uncomfortable, to which she replied, “Oh, yes, I can, Stephen,” before being beamed off the screen.
Benanti, who resides in Montclair, New Jersey, like her host Colbert, had also performed the character just days earlier. On Saturday, October 18, 2025, she appeared at the No Kings rally at Brookdale Park in Montclair, singing a satirical song about the president while in character. Taking the stage, she greeted the crowd as if she had just escaped from the White House, joking about encountering what she called an Antifa insurrection filled with mandolins, cute children and old people.
Backed by guitarist Dave Lockhart, Benanti performed “The Toddler Song,” written by Miranda Ferriss Jones. The lyrics mocked the president’s temperament and behavior, suggesting the White House is not where a toddler belongs. She concluded the performance with a pointed insult directed at Trump.
The Montclair rally featured speakers including U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, U.S. Rep. and gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill, and former U.S. secretary of homeland security Jeh Johnson. Jazz singer Melissa Walker, who founded and runs the Montclair-based educational organization Jazz House Kids, performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the event’s opening.
Benanti has maintained the Melania Trump character through multiple appearances on the CBS late-night program. In an earlier appearance in March 2025, she introduced “Melania 2.0,” joking about her role as first lady during Trump’s second term. During that segment, she discussed splitting time between Mar-a-Lago, the White House and Camp David, explaining that Camp David meant imagining camping with David Beckham.
The character addressed her relationship with Trump supporters, stating that their money is just a gift to her. She noted the state of the union remains the same, describing a dynamic where he reaches for her hand and she smacks it away, repeating various avoidance maneuvers. The fake first lady indicated she would be wearing secret earbuds playing Sabrina Carpenter during Trump’s addresses to Congress.
Benanti concluded that appearance by comparing America to herself, describing both as trapped in a bad relationship with Donald Trump. The actress, who grew up in Kinnelon, New Jersey, has been nominated for five Tony Awards and won the Featured Actress in Musical Tony in 2008 for playing Louise in a revival of “Gypsy.”
Beyond her comedic work on late-night television, Benanti continues her acting career across multiple platforms. She currently appears in the TV Land comedy series “Younger,” which has found renewed popularity on Netflix. Recent television credits include story arcs on HBO’s “The Gilded Age” and CBS’s “Elsbeth.” Her solo comedy show, “Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares,” is available for streaming on Audible.
Benanti also joined the cast of “Mayor of Kingstown” for its fourth season on Paramount+. In the Taylor Sheridan-created series starring Jeremy Renner, she plays Cindy Stephens, a new correctional officer recruited in Kingstown. The drama follows the McLusky family, power brokers in Kingstown, Michigan, where incarceration is the primary industry.
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” airs weekdays at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS before streaming on Paramount+.
