It’s no secret that late-night television leans left, but new data suggests the imbalance has reached staggering levels, turning what was once comedy into a near-monologue of political mockery aimed overwhelmingly at conservatives.
A report published last week by the New York Post found that a striking 92 percent of political jokes told on late-night television over the past year targeted conservatives. That figure represents a 10-point increase from the year before, underscoring how partisan the genre has become. The findings are based on an extensive analysis by media watchdog NewsBusters, which reviewed 818 episodes from the major mainstream late-night programs.
The shows examined included those hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and **Seth Meyers Greg Gutfeld and economist Oren Cass.
According to the analysis, Kimmel stood out as the most aggressive offender. He reportedly delivered more than 3,000 jokes aimed at conservatives, with the bulk of them focused on President Donald Trump. Of those jokes, 1,668 specifically targeted Trump. Other hosts piled on as well, with more than 7,000 Trump-related jokes told across the late-night landscape this year alone, a significant jump from the previous year.
Media Research Center president David Bozell said the data confirms what many viewers already suspect. “The numbers don’t lie,” Bozell said, arguing that late-night hosts are part of an “elitist media complex” that has spent years stoking hostility toward conservatives.
The timing of the findings is notable, coming on the heels of Trump’s decisive victory in the 2024 election. Despite that outcome, late-night hosts have doubled down on partisan attacks even as the genre struggles financially and culturally.
CBS announced in July that it would cancel The Late Show after its upcoming season, a decision the network described as “purely financial.” Reports indicated the show was losing roughly $40 million a year. Colbert responded with a profanity-laced monologue attacking Trump and CBS, also referencing a $16 million settlement paid by CBS parent company Paramount Global to Trump following accusations of election interference.
Kimmel’s own show experienced a brief surge in attention after he was taken off the air for a short period in September following remarks about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel suggested Kirk’s killer was part of a “MAGA gang,” despite authorities saying otherwise. When Kimmel returned, his show drew a record 6.3 million viewers, more than triple his usual audience. Within days, however, viewership collapsed by 64 percent, settling back to roughly 2.3 million.
The data paints a clear picture: late-night television has become less about humor and more about ideological enforcement, with conservatives serving as the default punchline. And as audiences continue to drift away, the industry’s one-sided obsession may be contributing to its own decline.
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