81 Percent Of Political Late Night TV Jokes Targeted Conservatives In 2023, Analysis Finds

A new analysis from the Media Research Center found that 81 percent of political jokes on top late night television targeted conservatives in 2023.

The media watchdog group analyzed a total of 9,518 political jokes told by daily late-night hosts between January 3 and December 22 and found that 7,729 of them took aim at “someone or something on the right side of the political spectrum.” Shows analyzed included ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, NBC’s Late Night With Seth Meyers,  NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and The Late Late Show with James Corden, which was cancelled in April.

Breaking down the data further, the watchdog group found that Kimmel’s show had the highest rate of anti-conservative jokes of the six. Of the 2,215 political jokes made on Jimmy Kimmel Live, 1,960 were directed at conservatives, or 88 percent.

In terms of individual political figures targeted by Kimmel’s jokes, 94 of them were on the right while just 37 were of the left. An additional 11 jokes were aimed at nonpartisan figures. Kimmel roasted former President Donald Trump a total of 762 times, while President Biden was targeted just 164 times.

Vice President Harris was only made fun of once, while Trump’s three oldest children were hit 101 times. Hunter Biden was made fun of just nine times.

Colbert’s show trailed close behind Kimmel, with 86 percent of 1,655 aimed at conservatives.

Fallon’s NBC show came in fifth, targeting conservatives in 66 percent of 1,416 political jokes in 2023. Fallon did have a more even split in terms of individual jokes, the group noted. “Fallon poked fun at 196 unique targets, 103 of whom were on the right, 85 of whom were on the left, and 18 of whom were non-partisan,” the watchdog group wrote.

Corden’s show was found to be the least partisan prior to its cancellation on April, with 54 percent of political jokes targeting conservatives.