When former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno said recently that late night shows have become too political, President Donald Trump blasted the “one-sided hatred” of late night television comedy.
“Jay Leno points out that comedy (on the very boring late night shows) is totally one-sided,” Trump tweeted. “It’s tough when there’s only one topic.”
“@foxandfriends Actually, the one-sided hatred on these shows is incredible and for me, unwatchable,” he added. “But remember, WE are number one – President!”
“Jay Leno points out that comedy (on the very boring late night shows) is totally one-sided. It’s tough when there’s only one topic.” @foxandfriends Actually, the one-sided hatred on these shows is incredible and for me, unwatchable. But remember, WE are number one – President!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 13, 2019
Leno Agrees About ‘One-Sided Hatred’
Leno told NBC’s “Today” show on Tuesday that hosting is not something he misses because these days “it’s all very serious” and “everyone has to know your politics.”
Leno said he preferred the days of Johnny Carson, his predecessor on the “Tonight Show,” and that he’d “like to see a bit of civility come back.” Leno said with Carson, no one knew exactly where he was coming from politically. He also noted that late night comedians of that era would criticize both parties.
“I used to get hate mail from both sides equally,” Leno said.
Political Comedy Harder Today
Trump pointed to Jay Leno's comments about the politics of late night shows when calling the "one-sided hatred" unwatchable. https://t.co/v1riuzK7Ts
— Twitter Moments (@TwitterMoments) March 13, 2019
He says under Trump, everything has changed. “I did it when, you know, Clinton was horny and Bush was dumb, and it was just a little easier,” Leno laughed.
Leno also joked that with the Trump White House, the comedy landscape is harder to navigate. he said political jokes now are “actually harder because the punch line of the joke used to be ‘That’s like the president with a porn star.’ Well, now the president is with a porn star. Where do you go with that? How do you get more outrageous than that?”
Trump Calls Them Out
This is not the first time President Trump has called out the entertainment industry for being so one-sided politically. He has regularly criticized Saturday Night Live and other late night programming for constantly ganging up on Republicans and his administration in particular. Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” even once said “good riddance” to conservatives who didn’t like the liberal bent of his show.
In 2017, the president asked why late night comedians were “always anti-Trump” and wondered about “Equal Time.”
Late Night host are dealing with the Democrats for their very "unfunny" & repetitive material, always anti-Trump! Should we get Equal Time?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2017
But the president is not wrong here. If you watch any of these late night talk shows, it’s basically a non-stop Trump-bashing fest. Jay Leno is basically saying the same thing. Why does Hollywood hate the millions of Americans who voted for Donald Trump? Shouldn’t they be allowed to be entertained without it constantly being political?
Why can’t we go back to the days of Johnny Carson?