Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement has not made comedy great. The most exploitable person to ever hold political office in history is making comedians less funny. Trump is still blundering and gaffing through his presidency, so there is no shortage of material.
Liberal comedians who dominate the airwaves have become extremely unfunny and frankly, just obnoxious. They have descended into spitting vitriolic nonsense about conservatism, Trump supporters and pretty much anyone who isn’t an Obama or Clinton-loving democrat.
Late night television has descended into the incapable hands of idiots like Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon. Comedy Central has debased themselves with The President’s Show, by portraying the president as a pitiful, moronic sex offender. Then come the Trevor Noahs and Samantha Bees of the world, who comment on politics so biasedly they will never be funny.
It is amazing how these people have had successful careers in comedy. Trevor Noah is the least funny human being ever to walk on this earth, and Seth Meyers could possibly be the worst late night TV show host ever. Comedian Amy Schumer is the crudest and most liberal comedian to finagle her way into fame.
The sad part: not all of these comedians are totally unfunny – some of them really know comedy and know how to make people laugh. But the rise of Trump seems to have coincided with the decline in comedic quality across the board; not because all of these people are terribly unfunny but because they are so terribly angry all the time.
“Hollywood is so enraged at Donald Trump that they can’t be funny,” former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich said in May. “All they have is pure anger.”
Gingrich is 100 percent correct. Hollywood comedians in their venomous crusade against Trump and conservatism are losing the innocence required to be comical. Leave the crusades and grandstanding to actual political pundits and commentators because the anger and the virtue signaling at every little thing alienates people who just want to laugh.
It takes a particular type of person to find a lot of these comedians funny, especially since most of them are so incredibly liberal. Political belief alone doesn’t impair someone’s ability to be funny; it is only detrimental when these beliefs become their political identity.
I wasn’t alive to see famed late night host Johnny Carson host any of his shows, but from what I understand, he played both sides of the aisle in gingerly humorous manner. The ideal comedians should be striving for is the chance to keep politics as a central part of comedy in a light and fair way.
While many of these shows are popular, it seems like they could be more popular by trying to include a more diverse comedic opinion on issues, yet no one seems to have put two and two together on this. It is almost as if these networks have board meetings and decide they don’t want half the country to tune in, so they might as well offend the hell of out them by being self-righteous pricks all the time.
I am not advocating for comedians to not comment on politics. I am just advocating for them to do it in a more balanced, gingerly manner. The more divisive these people become, the less funny they are, and the more their message will resonate with a smaller group of people.
There is plenty of comedic gold from all parts of the political spectrum. If someone comes along and finds a way to harness comedic ability with an understanding of the political diversity in this country, they will be incredibly successful. Let’s make comedy great again by leaving the anger and the moral positioning out of it.
Jacob Maranto is 21-year-old mass communication senior from Plaquemine, Louisiana.
