Remembering
James Robison

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Late Night Wars Against Trump

By Al Perrotta Published on October 9, 2017

Remember when the term “late night wars” referred to the battle between Leno and Letterman?

Today there is another late night war even more bloody, more persistent, and more destructive to the viewing audience and the American psyche. It’s the vicious, ceaseless war late night hosts are waging against President Trump. And by extension any who support him.

According to the Center for Media and Public Affairs, during Trump’s first 100 days alone, Stephen Colbert did 337 Trump jokes, Trevor Noah of Comedy Central did 315, NBC’s Jimmy Fallon 231 and Jimmy Kimmel 177.

I use the term “jokes” in the generic sense. The better term in far too many instances is “insults.” It was a pace not seen in at least a quarter century. And a partisan vitriol never seen before. Things have not settled down since, with Kimmel growing even more political and pointed and Colbert resorting to Nazi salutes.

On Friday, Trump called them out on it.

Chuck Schumer’s new BFF Jimmy Kimmel was quick to respond.

It’s a very funny riposte. But only when you consider Trump conquered prime time and Kimmel barely makes it in late night.

Seth Meyers of NBC’s Late Show also responded with a howler.

In other words, “I’m happy firing shots at you from my comfy studio in New York, as long as it’s not face-to-face.”

A writer-producer for The Tonight Show also weighed in.

https://twitter.com/mikedicenzo/status/916637135825965056

Let’s ignore the snark and get right to the lie:  “That’s not how it works.” That’s not how it works now. But that is precisely how it worked and worked well for generations in late night. And that’s precisely how it should work.

Late night is an entertainment platform, not a soapbox. Let alone a bitterly partisan one. What writers like DiCenzo and hosts like Colbert are doing is stealing from us.  Like the NFL protests, they’ve corrupted a neutral ground free of partisan politics, denying us a nightly respite from the daily rancor. In day’s past, regardless of political turmoil or divisions, we got the chance to laugh together before we turned out the lights.

The Job

I wrote topical humor for 20 years, including freelancing for The Tonight Show and taking on their entire staff with my nationally-syndicated Daily Scoop service. I also wrote and produced countless comedy sketches and was the VP of the 24-hour All Comedy Radio network in Los Angeles. I lived and breathed topical humor to the point I couldn’t hear a news headline without 2,3 or 4 jokes popping out of my head.

In other words, I know the gig. I know how the process works. I get it. And the simple truth is that attacking a political foe is easy. It’s cheap. It’s lazy. I could rattle off a dozen harsh Clinton jokes in a few minutes, and I voted twice for the guy. Ripping down Trump? They should be ashamed to be getting a salary … especially since it’s becoming essentially the same joke: “Trump is Evil.”

I submit DiCenzo and all the DiCenzos in late night should worry less about Trump and worry more about doing their own job. The real job.

The job — no, the responsibility — is to poke fun at all of them, absent of malice. Equal opportunity jester. You tease, not target. Aim for laughter, not blood. Humor with empathy heals. Humor with hate destroys. What do you think the nation needs right now? Laughter, we’ve been told, is the best medicine. What late night has been prescribing is poison.

The Ode to Hillary

The Tonight Show‘s Jimmy Fallon isn’t nearly as snarky and partisan as Kimmel and Stephen Colbert. He was gracious and playful when Trump was a guest during the campaign, only to be brutalized for being so welcoming.

But last week, Fallon allowed one of the most embarrassing displays in late night history. When Hillary Clinton was on, he had female writers and Miley Cyrus read her tearful notes of appreciation. Sure, Hillary broke a glass ceiling and she didn’t do it swinging naked from a wrecking ball a la Miley. But still, watching you had to wonder, “Is this a skit? Where’s the punch line? Don’t you have to die before people give you eulogies?”

If you’re one of those who sees Hillary’s face and think “What difference, at this point, does it make?” the segment was nauseating. Same for those who heard those odes to her wonderfulness and wondered, “What about all the girls whose opportunities got ripped apart in the womb?” But I actually cut Fallon some slack. At least at its heart the segment was a positive gesture toward a guest. Kissing up, you may say, but at least bucking up someone who lost in the most shocking upset in American political history.

Of course, Fallon then turned around and let Hillary blame the Vegas massacre on Republicans and the NRA.

Ban the Gun Bandwagon

All the late night hosts joined Hillary in turning in scapegoating the NRA and Republicans in the wake of the Vegas shooting, forget the NRA members and Republicans killed. There’s nothing more entertaining to watch than TV personalities yelling for gun control in a studio ringed with armed security.

For Jimmy Kimmel, the attack hit close to home. Literally. He’s from Vegas. Yet, after admitting there was nothing in Stephen Paddock’s background that would stop him from legally purchasing weapons, he went on to blast lawmakers for not doing more to stop gun violence. He even hit White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for suggesting that the hours after a massacre are not the time for a political debate.

He said now is the time. And he meant that very second. Kimmel splashed the pictures of 56 Senators who voted against extra gun control measures in the wake of the Pulse nightclub terrorist attack.

But that was not the time. And again, it’s not the job.

Jimmy, man, I feel you. Even right now, I feel the tug. The temptation to attack: “Can you put up pictures of the people at that church in Tennessee who weren’t killed because an usher was a licensed gun owner? How many guests have you had on this year who were plugging TV shows or movies that depict gun violence? Do you feel any personal responsibility for the deaths in Vegas given your position in an industry that glorifies violence and mocks the culture of life?” But where does that road get us? Is it the best use of whatever God has given me?

Kimmel also said during his emotional monologue: “I want this to be a comedy show. I hate talking about stuff like this. I just want to laugh about things every night. But it seems to becoming increasingly difficult lately. It feels like someone has opened a window into hell.”

I’ve been exactly where he is. Somewhere, I have tucked away the jokes I submitted to The Tonight Show for Tuesday, September 11, 2001. But ours is not to tell people the temperature. They know and see and feel the heat. Ours is not to throw more fuel in the fire. Ours is to help show a path through the hell, to help lift and brighten those who join us on the journey. God has given us a gift of humor. With His gift we can help fill mouths with laughter and hearts to joy.

You want to slam shut that window into hell? Start with love. Laugh with your neighbor … even if he lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.