Steve Martin and Martin Short jab at Trump while honoring Steven Spielberg - The Independent

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Comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short have jabbed at Donald Trump while honoring Steven Spielberg.

Spielberg was honored at the Museum of Modern Art’s 2026 Film Benefit. In addition to Martin and Short, the Oscar-winning director was celebrated with appearances and speeches by Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt and Bruce Springsteen, among others.

But it was Martin and Short who provided the laughs. The comedy duo did a nearly six-minute set that poked fun at themselves, Spielberg and Trump.

“When I think of The Color Purple, I think of a true Spielberg classic,” Martin said, referring to Spielberg’s 1985 film that received 11 Oscar nominations.

“Well that is so interesting, because when I think of the color purple, I think of Trump's face when he's climbing a flight of stairs,” Short responded, per USA Today.

Short continued: “I can still remember the magic when I saw my very first Steven Spielberg film. I came out of the theater thinking, ‘This man has a gift.’ And I knew then that my life had just changed.”

Martin asked what film that was, and Short responded: “Disclosure Day.”

Speaking to USA Today, Spielberg said: “I have no idea what keeps me going, but I don't have brakes. I have a clutch I rarely use. I don't have good brakes, and if I found my brakes, I would never want to apply them because I just have too much fun doing this job.”

Spielberg, who achieved EGOT status earlier this year with a historic Grammys win, revealed that his next film will be a Western with no “stereotypes, no tropes.”

In a conversation with The Big Picture’s Sean Fennessey at SXSW in Austin last March, the Jurassic Park filmmaker decided to share with the audience what he was working on next.

“Can’t reveal anything right now, but I have a Western in development. And it kicks ass,” Spielberg said to massive applause, according to Deadline. “And it's gonna have horses. There will be guns.”

“But there'll be no tropes, I can just tell you that,” he said. “There are gonna be no stereotypes, no tropes.”

Spielberg previously talked about wanting to make a Western, telling The Hollywood Reporter in June last year that he had “an appetite for” doing so.

“It’s something that’s eluded me for all of these decades,” he said, adding that the genre “requires an operatic flair he hasn’t been able to crack.”