Mentions of late night television talk shows in presidential rhetoric

So long as voters keep watching late night talk shows—and presidents keep watching late night talk shows—we will continue to hear mentions of late night comedy political humor in presidential talk. 

Josh Compton

Extant political communication scholarship reveals a nuanced portrait of the nature and effects of late night television talk show political humor. More than ever, we know how late night comedy programs characterize presidents, politics, and political candidates and the potential effects of this humor on viewers. We know much less, however, about how presidents view late night television talk shows and hosts. In this essay, I survey what presidents have said in public remarks about late night television talk shows, including The Tonight Show and Late Show, and hosts, including Johnny Carson, Jay Leno and David Letterman. This survey helps balance our understanding of the unique relationship between late night political comedy and its targets, and it showcases how late night political humor effects reach beyond viewers of the television programs and into presidential rhetoric.

Compton, J. (2010, April). Mentions of late night television talk shows in presidential rhetoric [paper presentation]. Eastern Communication Association, Baltimore, MD, United States.