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A new study reveals that late-night television hosts relentlessly targeted Donald Trump in their jokes leading up to the 2024 presidential election, yet their efforts failed to prevent Trump from achieving a decisive victory over Kamala Harris.
The study, conducted by the Media Research Center (MRC), found that an overwhelming 98% of political jokes made by late-night hosts, including Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and others, were directed at Trump.
Of the 1,463 political jokes aired between September 3 and October 25, a staggering 1,428 targeted the former president.
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“That’s a whopping 40:1 ratio or almost 98 percent to 2 percent,” MRC analyst Alex Christy said, as reported by Fox News.
Even when the hosts joked about then-nominee Joe Biden, they often softened their commentary with digs at Trump.
For instance, Seth Meyers addressed concerns about Biden’s age by comparing him favorably to Trump.
“There’s no equivalency between a competent 81-year-old who occasionally shows signs of age and a demented 77-year-old criminal,” Meyers quipped in June.
Jimmy Kimmel took personal jabs at Trump, including an appearance by his wife on the show in September to roast the former president.
“Go to Mar-a-Lago, spend all day, every day, cheating at golf and masturbating to Newsmax, and let a competent woman take over,” she said, drawing laughter from the audience.
Kimmel later devoted a 20-minute segment in October to criticize Trump, using clips from speeches and rallies. “Am I biased against Donald Trump? Yes,” Kimmel admitted.
NBC’s Saturday Night Live faced backlash for a late October skit featuring Maya Rudolph alongside Kamala Harris, sparking accusations of violating FCC rules on airtime equity for presidential candidates.
Kamala Harris SNL skit DIRECTLY copied Trump’s from 2015.
Can she do ANYTHING original at all? https://t.co/RX3zMprYfo pic.twitter.com/wwbdVJgig1
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) November 3, 2024
Trump’s hush money trial earlier in the year provided late-night hosts with extensive material.
Stephen Colbert mocked the case, referring to it as the “faking business records to cover up banging a porn star trial.”
He joked about Trump’s confidence in his marriage, noting, “Not long is how Stormy described it.”
Other hosts, such as Seth Meyers and Jon Stewart, focused on salacious details from the trial, including Daniels’ testimony about “missionary sex” and allegations of spanking.
Stewart sarcastically commented on the trial’s media coverage, calling it “penis to penis coverage.”
Despite their months-long efforts, late-night hosts were visibly stunned on election night as Trump secured the presidency. Kimmel, nearly breaking into tears, described the outcome as “a terrible night.”
Stephen Colbert admitted he was “not doing great,” while Seth Meyers joked, “Something in my brain broke a little bit last night.”
Jimmy Fallon added a jab, saying, “America got back together with its crazy ex.”
Tim Graham, MRC director, noted that the comedians’ relentless focus on Trump was unlikely to influence voters. “The so-called comedians on the late-night shows were never going to harm Trump because their audiences are fully stocked with Trump-hating Democrats who want their fix of Trump hatred,” Graham told Fox News.
“Colbert and Kimmel and the rest sound more like Democrat Senators than people hired to make you laugh,” he added.
Trump’s decisive victory over Kamala Harris demonstrated that late-night hosts’ relentless attacks failed to resonate beyond their core audiences.
As election night unfolded, it became clear that their efforts had little impact on voters, solidifying Trump’s return to the White House.