Conan O’Brien Criticizes Trump-Era Political Comedy, Calls It “Not Great” for the Genre
In a recent podcast interview with journalist Kara Swisher, veteran comedian Conan O’Brien expressed his view that one of former President Donald Trump’s “greatest crimes” was inspiring poor political jokes that harmed the comedy landscape.
O’Brien, known for his long-running late-night talk shows, including “Late Night” and “The Tonight Show,” made these remarks while discussing the state of modern political comedy. He pointed out that simply saying, “‘Doesn’t [Trump] suck’ isn’t a joke.” Although O’Brien didn’t mention specific names, it’s apparent that he was referring to late-night hosts like Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers, who often focus on anti-Republican and anti-Trump themes in their routines.
Critics have labeled this type of political humor as “clapter” comedy, where the audience applauds rather than genuinely laughs because the jokes align with their viewpoints.
Despite the prevalence of such humor, O’Brien disagreed with the notion that political correctness stifles comedy. He stated that there are still plenty of funny things to explore without resorting to insensitivity.
When Swisher pointed out that O’Brien typically doesn’t do political humor, he confirmed this, mentioning that he was never comfortable using comedy to make political points.
However, Swisher noted that Trump provided comedians with ample material for political satire. O’Brien conceded that while Trump’s presidency generated significant material, it ultimately didn’t serve comedy well. He compared attempting to parody Trump to parodying a tabloid magazine like the National Enquirer, saying that it’s impossible to parody something already so absurd.
O’Brien concluded that many comedians resorted to simply expressing their disdain for Trump, which he felt wasn’t genuine comedy. In a humorous twist, he jokingly declared that this was Trump’s “greatest crime,” even surpassing the events of the January 6 Capitol riot. O’Brien’s point was that Trump’s outlandish behavior made it challenging for comedians to create genuinely funny content.
Swisher laughed and remarked, “I’m glad you went out there and said that.”
