Late-night TV veteran Jay Leno says he doesn’t like President Trump personally but thinks the “constant negative Trump stuff” on a nightly basis is getting a little trite.
The former “Tonight Show” host told Page Six that he enjoys “bringing people together” rather than dividing them politically.
“If [mocking the president] is a constant thing on a nightly basis, eventually you’re all doing the same joke,” he said.
Mr. Leno made similar comments earlier this week to The Hollywood Reporter, saying, “I don’t like Trump, I can’t stand the guy, I don’t like him personally. But the constant negative Trump stuff on a nightly basis? I think it has a debilitating effect on people. People are just, ’Oh, gosh, I don’t wanna watch TV anymore. This is just the same thing every night.’”
In May, he told The New York Times that “this constant pounding” against the president “does have a tendency to anesthetize your feelings.”
Mr. Leno’s successor on the show, Jimmy Fallon, also said he tries to limit the Trump jokes.
“There’s only so many bits you can do” about the president, he told The Times. “I don’t want to be bullied into not being me, and not doing what I think is funny.”
The comments come as liberal late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee and Bill Maher, who routinely take aim at Mr. Trump, enjoy significant ratings boosts under the new president. Mr. Fallon, however, has seen his viewership decline.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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