Late Night TV has aggressively chased half of America away in the age of Trump. The hosts’ anti-conservative rhetoric all but drowns out what used to come first from the format.
Jokes.
The Kimmel-Meyers-Noah-Colbert-Bee-Oliver-Maher Borg spins progressive narratives before any gut-busting gags. It’s why the term “clapter” captures the new format so well.
The current crisis finds some of these far-left hosts doubling down on their anti-Trump rhetoric. Seth Meyers, for example, called President Trump a “sociopath.”
The host of HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” attempted to savage Trump for his handling of the pandemic … before Rep. Dan Crenshaw schooled him.
Something else is sneaking into these late-night sermons – an elitist streak that could turn off even some left-leaning viewers.
Maher himself inadvertently kicked it off last year when he cheered on a recession in order to topple Trump. That arrogance multiplied in recent days thanks to the pandemic.
For example, the host of TBS’s “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” served up a disturbing rant earlier this month. The far-left comic, as Trump-obsessed as her peers, trashed the President for a curious reason.
Trump has been offering a beleaguered nation hope of a better tomorrow via his daily pressers. He’s the Optimist in Chief, and a nation literally shut down by COVID-19 could use a dash of that pluck.
Enter Bee, who fired back against that sentiment.
“He IS a cheerleader. He even came up with his first cheer!” she cried, then played a clip of Trump spelling out COVID.
Here’s betting some of Bee’s viewers hope the president is right.
We think.
Over at Colbert’s “Late Show,” the Trump-hating host took his fury out on average Americans struggling to pay their bills. Colbert is collecting his usual paycheck, which last year got a sizable bump. He previously earned $15 million a year.
The progressive host punched down, big time, by attacking Ohio and Michigan residents eager to get back to work.
Protestors demonstrated outside their respective state houses, blocked traffic (not that there’s much traffic right now with shelter-in-place orders in effect), and waved giant flags, including Confederate ones. “Because nothing says ‘never surrender’ like a Confederate flag,” Colbert said with a wink.
Meanwhile, a clueless James Corden turned to the women who, on Feb. 24, endangered many lives with these public statements.
“It’s exciting to be here, especially at this time, to be able to be unified with our community,” Pelosi told reporters. “We want to be vigilant about what is out there in other places. We want to be careful about how we deal with it, but we do want to say to people ‘Come to Chinatown, here we are – we’re, again, careful, safe – and come join us.’”
Yes, multi-millionaire Nancy Pelosi, also known as the Speaker of the House, appeared on “The Late, Late Show” for a stilted, laugh-free segment.
The “highlight?” Viewers got a glimpse of Pelosi’s massive refrigerators, stuffed to the brim with ice cream.
Marie Antoinette would be proud.
These hosts thrive, in part, due to our increasingly splintered landscape. “The Late Show” typically rules the ratings roost today, but its numbers can’t compare to Johnny Carson’s audience in his “Tonight Show” prime.
That’s no longer the goal.
Colbert and co. can afford to chase away large numbers of viewers as long as their far-left base sticks around. Those fans will cling to their monologues in perpetuity.
Independent viewers, or just those feeling the vise-like grip of the national shutdown, may seek out different shows should their elitism continue.