Is political comedy dead? What Trump and Kimmel's latest feud means
Is political comedy dead? What Trump and Kimmel's latest feud means
Kelly Lawler, USA TODAYTue, April 28, 2026 at 5:19 PM UTC
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If a joke falls in the forest, does it make a sound?
Apparently the answer is a resounding yes. Jimmy Kimmel, the current king of late night comedy controversy, is at odds with President Donald Trump once again, who is (once again) calling for the ABC host to be fired.
This is all because on an April 23 episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on ABC, the host staged a faux White House Correspondents Association dinner, and made a joke about first lady Melania Trump. Kimmel, pretending to be in a room with the who's-who of Washington, D.C., and acting as if he saw the first lady in person, said, "Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow."
In the immediate aftermath of the joke, no one from the Trump administration commented on what Kimmel himself has said was a joke about the age difference between the first couple (President Trump is 79, turning 80 in June, and Melania Trump is 56).
However after the real Correspondents Dinner erupted in violence on April 26, both Trumps are taking deep offense at Kimmel's remarks, with the first lady writing on X, "How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community."
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Comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!", will resume production after it was pulled off the air Sept. 17, following comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. Kimmel, a frequent critic of Donald Trump, often earned the ire of the president.After the announcement, Trump urged other networks to do the same. Scroll to see the other late-night talk show hosts that have feuded with the president over the years.
For Kimmel, it's déjà vu all over again after an incident in September. Then, his politically charged joke about the Republican reaction to the shooting of political activist Charlie Kirk, led to his temporary suspension from the air after prominent Trump officials put pressure on ABC for his removal. After a week's suspension Kimmel returned a vindicated man (to astonishing ratings) and continued his show as usual, without pulling back on jokes and criticisms of the Trump administration.
Kimmel seems unruffled by the Trumps' rhetoric, and ABC has not made any official comment on the matter (USA TODAY has reached out to the network). But in the wake of the Kimmel cultural firestorm in September, the violence at a dinner that has previously been the epicenter of political comedy and the forthcoming late night departure of prominent Trump critic Stephen Colbert, the current state of political comedy in the United States is under a microscope.
With presidential critiques, a war of attrition on late-night TV and the mile-a-minute media cycle of 2026, what place does political comedy have in our modern world? And who will preserve it as time marches on?
Jimmy Kimmel and Donald TrumpPolitical comedy is a foundational part of American society
This country has a deep and meaningful history when it comes to political comedy, satire and commentary, from old-time political cartoons in historical newspapers to counter-culture comedians arrested on the stage of mid-century comedy clubs to Tina Fey decked out as Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live."
During the lead up to the Revolutionary War, political cartoons and strong political speech were a major part of the efforts of the Founding Fathers and their allies. Benjamin Franklin's 1754 "Join, or Die" cartoon is one of the most famous instances of political commentary through comedy in world history.
In the 1800s Mark Twain was one of the most prominent voices critiquing American political and social norms and faults, including with his incisive 1873 novel "The Gilded Age," which included (less than flattering) caricatures of many politicians, industrialists and leaders.
In the 20th century, some of the biggest names in comedy may be remembered more for their warm, inviting jokes than their more barbed satire, but the likes of Bob Hope and Johnny Carson had plenty to say about politics. Lenny Bruce, along with venerated comedians like George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Dick Gregory, created the foundation of the most cutting and controversial jokes about American culture and our political system.
Lenny Bruce holds a microphone while performing, 1950s.
The "Weekend Updates" of "SNL," Jay Leno and David Letterman's Bill Clinton jokes, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Comedy Central heyday poking at George W. Bush in the early 2000s and, yes, the current late-night lineup of Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Colbert, Seth Meyers and John Oliver all stand on the shoulders of some of the biggest names in our history.
It may seem, just because we're living in a politically charged moment in our history, as though our current slate of comedians is harsher or more criticized or more contentious than those who came before – but they are continuing a deeply American tradition of free speech.
Trump never has liked late-night comedians, and likely never will
It's been clear since Trump joined the political stage in 2016 that he does not care for the late-night comedians who poke at his presidency. And based on their hours of jokes about Trump and his allies, it's also abundantly clear that the current late-night hosts will not stand down in their mocking of the president.
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Trump has feuded with Kimmel, Fallon, Meyers, Colbert, Stewart and Oliver each in turn. And while the genre in general is in danger due to waning ratings and changes in the media landscape, they still put on their suits and deliver their monologues night after night.
But they are not the only voices. Greg Gutfeld, who has a show on Fox News at 10 p.m. ET weeknights (which is in the primetime window rather than late-night) leans to the political right. And the more mainstream late night comics, while traditionally cast as left-leaning, do not hesitate to criticize Democrats and leftists when they see opportunities for humor or feel strongly about the issues.
Seth Meyers with Amber Ruffin, far left, and Jenny Hagel delivering "Jokes Seth Can't Tell" on April 29, 2025.
CBS has announced the cancelation of Colbert's show and ABC appeared to cave to pressure from the Trump administration last fall over Kimmel's Kirk joke, but those, for now, appear to be aberrations.
It's unlikely that Kimmel will actually be fired over the "widow" joke. Kimmel walked on stage after Trump's comments as usual on April 27 and defended himself casually and calmly. To him, it was just another day at the office in 2026. Fallon, Meyers, Stewart and more appear unmoved by any attacks by Trump on their work. Networks are not rushing to cancel their shows. For now.
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Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel from "The Man Show" appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" at the NBC Studios in Los Angeles on Nov. 19, 2001.
Political comedy endures, but it is evolving
The White House Correspondents' Association dinner has long the place where political comedians faced the names they dragged through the proverbial mud.
In 2006, most famously, Colbert delivered a shocking roast of President Bush to his face that has lived in infamy ever since. Meyers, Stewart and Kimmel have also previously hosted the event without pulling punches, no matter the political party of the president.
But it seems that Trump's influence may be ending that tradition permanently.
The April 25 dinner was the first time he has attended as president, seemingly in part due to the tradition of satirist hosts. (Cut short by the security crisis, association president Weijia Jiang says this year's dinner will be rescheduled.) In 2025, the association engaged comedian Amber Ruffin before rescinding the invitation after criticism from the Trump administration. This year they eschewed comedy entirely, instead enlisting "mentalist" and magician Oz Pearlman as host.
Before the Kimmel/Kirk controversy, Trump jokes from late night comedians did not frequently make headlines on CNN. We were not having constant conversations over the future of comedy. The chair of the FCC did not routinely comment on the behavior of individual TV hosts.
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We are clearly in a new era of comedic history that is being defined by the likes of Kimmel, plus plenty of new voices trying to figure out the mood of a nation and the right way to make their mark. The business of comedy may feel more precarious now than it has since the era in which Bruce said "the American Constitution was not written to protect criminals; it was written to protect the government from becoming criminals" and a Carlin comedy routine went all the way to the Supreme Court.
But if we look to our history, politicians come and go (as do comedians), but there will always be someone ready to make a joke about whoever is elected next.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kimmel, Trump and the shaky state of political comedy in 2026
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
