Comedian and late-night television veteran Conan OBrien has criticized fellow comics who have abandoned humor in favor of nonstop rage against President Donald Trump.
During a recent appearance before the Oxford Union, OBrien lamented that many in his profession have allowed their acts to devolve into little more than profanity-laced tirades, a trend that, according to Breitbart, reflects the broader politicization of entertainment under the lefts cultural dominance. Some comics go the route of Im going to just say F Trump all the time or thats their comedy. And I think youre being co-opted because youre so angry. Youve been lulled, he said.
Its like a siren leading you into the rocks. Youve been lulled into just saying, F Trump. F Trump. F Trump. Screw this guy. And I think youve now put down your best weapon, which is being funny, and youve exchanged it for anger, OBrien continued, warning that comedians who surrender to fury are effectively disarming themselves. His remarks cut against the prevailing attitude in much of late-night television, where hostility toward President Trump has often become a substitute for wit, nuance, or genuine satire.
OBrien argued that the comedians first duty is to be humorous, regardless of the political climate or personal outrage. And that person or any person like that would say, Well, things are too serious now. I dont need to be funny. And I think, well, if youre a comedian, you always need to be funny, he added.
You just have to find a way. And you just have to find a way to channel that anger into a waybecause good art will always be a great weapon, will always be a perfect weapon against power. But if youre just screaming and youre just angry, youve lost your best tool in the toolbox, he said, underscoring that real artistic resistance relies on craft, not tantrums. For conservatives long critical of Hollywoods one-note political lecturing, OBriens comments highlight a rare acknowledgment from within the industry that rage is no replacement for talent.
On the broader question of comedians plunging into polarizing political debates, OBrien admitted the terrain is fraught. I have very strong political feelings and views, but my comedy is something that I dont havethat kind of control over, OBrien said.
In a way, it is theres so much of what Ive done in my life thats impulse, he explained, suggesting that authentic comedy springs from instinct rather than ideological scripting. Yet even as he voiced his own political objections, he conceded that President Trumps larger-than-life persona has scrambled the traditional rules of satire.
OBrien went so far as to claim that Trumps most serious offense was against the craft of political humor itself. Im really going on a limb here saying thats his greatest crime. I think hes hurt political comedy by being so outlandish himself. I think the January 6 thing is a blip compared to how much hes hurt comedy, OBrien said.
For many on the right, that assertion will sound hyperbolic, but his broader critique inadvertently underscores a key conservative point: when entertainers obsess over one man and trade wit for raw indignation, they do not damage him so much as they cheapen their own art and further erode the credibility of an already politicized cultural elite.
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