Three late-night liberal television hosts — Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien — all “colluded” to deliver a skit that took direct aim at President Donald Trump’s blunt remarks earlier this week, in which he called out an assortment of comedy-challenged kingpins.
That’s right. They went after the president. So what else is new?
Fox News contributor Raymond Arroyo joined host Laura Ingraham on “The Ingraham Angle” Wednesday night to unpack the recent and disturbing trend of comedians who have ramped up their attacks on conservatives in general and on President Trump in particular.
“I don’t think the president should have elevated them by attacking [Jimmy Fallon] like this,” said Arroyo. He was referring to Trump’s part in the latest feud, in which he mentioned Fallon’s apology for “humanizing” the president by messing up his hair.
“Trump would be a great late-night host. He’s really funny,” said Ingraham.
“We need, as Americans, a place where we can unify,” said Arroyo. “And laughter — comedy — was that place … Jimmy Fallon was the last hold-out in late night that kept politics on a low simmer on the back burner … That’s gone now.”
“Fallon was really smart there,” said Ingraham. “Why would he cut his audience in half?”
She was responding to comments Fallon made in October 2017: He said he loved pop culture more than politics and that other comics cover politics pretty fully, so he only occasionally dipped into it.
“Could they go a week without Trump?” asked Ingraham. “They should go on a Trump diet — not mention him for a week. Try to be funny!”
“We need unifying comedy. Not divisive comedy,” Arroyo added. “And [Johnny] Carson’s right — the humor suffers [when it focuses primarily on politics].”
“The worst offense? It’s not funny,” Ingraham concluded.
In the “comic collusion” skit, which aired as the cold open on both Fallon’s and Colbert’s shows, the trio poked fun at the jabs President Trump lobbed at them during his South Carolina rally Monday night.
The bit started as a conference call between Colbert and Fallon; they’re then joined by a seemingly clueless O’Brien, caught in mid-shave. They included a swipe at White House press secretary Sarah Sanders by saying they would grab a meal at The Red Hen restaurant in Virginia — the one that kicked her out.
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Though this particular skit was fairly lighthearted, much of what the comedy network and cable shows have been delivering lately is anything but.
Samantha Bee, for example, used vulgar terms and content in referencing the president’s daughter Ivanka on TBS’ “Full Frontal.” And at the White House Correspondents’ Association gala several months back, comedian Michelle Wolf‘s atrocious remarks were an embarrassment even to many in the liberal establishment.
Who cares? Conan was only one I watched. But when he decided to become overtly anti-Trump and opted to be political rather than funny I stopped watching. Whatever. They have the audience they want and it doesn't include me. I'm OK with that.
— CrazyLibertarian (@chasingley) June 27, 2018
All three of them, late night hosts have berated and maligned Trump for months. Don’t watch any of them anymore.
— Judy Sadovsky (@songgirl46) June 27, 2018
#JimmyFallon is all that is wrong with late night television. Jerry Seinfeld said it best in his Howard Stern Show interview, he loved Carson because you didn’t know his politics. I agree. Kimmell, Fallon, Colbert… they’re all big mouths. It’s boring and tiring, politics.
— vivienne finch (@vfinch) June 25, 2018
LATE NIGHT HOST MOST LIKELY TO GET INTO FIGHT WITH TRUMP
1) Jimmy Kimmel
2) Samantha Bee
3) Seth Myers
4) Stephen Colbert
5) John Oliver
6) Trevor Noah
7) lady who does Dump Cakes infomercials
8) Carson Daly
9) Bewitched rerun
10) test patterns
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75) Jimmy Fallon— Matt Oswalt (@MattOswaltVA) June 25, 2018
Trump says Stephen Colbert is a “low life”
“Are these people funny?”
Crowd: NOOOO!!!
Trump: "This guy on CBS has no talent."
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) June 26, 2018
Michele Blood is a Flemington, New Jersey-based freelance writer and a regular contributor to LifeZette.
(photo credit, homepage: YouTube ; photo credit, article: NBC/CBS/TBS)
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