Re: Late-Night TV Comedy, Let’s Give Americans What They Want

Bill Mahrer has a point here, but it needs to be kept in perspective.

Most of us Boomers can remember when late-night comedy shows rarely had any political content.  Johnny Carson’s viewers had no interest in the subject, and even if they did, how much entertainment value could the escapades of Gerald Ford or Jimmy Carter possibly provide?

The circumstances are completely different today. It’s true that Trump and his support base believe that Trump is an honest and effective servant of our country and is doing his best to make America great again.  As such, they take offense at being the butt of jokes.

But the rest of the country understands that Trump is a criminal conman who is doing everything in his power to turn the Unites States into an autocratic nation. The entire purpose of his second term in office is to punish his enemies, make money, and stay out of prison.  Now, we have many millions of people who think of this as the only news in America of any real importance at all.  They look forward to a nightly blend of news and comedy along those lines before they head off to dreamland.

To simplify this, until Trump, there was neither demand for nor supply of sharp-tongued R-rated political humor.  Now there is plenty of both. We need to let Americans have what they’re demanding. If it annoys the MAGA group, they’re free to tune into Fox News, NewsMax, and the rest of the ultra-right-wing propaganda machine.