Score one, unequivocally, for President Donald Trump: The former reality show host has had more late-night monologue jokes tossed his way in 100 days than any other recent president’s entire first year.
One thousand and sixty: That’s the exact number of late-night jokes targeting Trump counted in a study by George Mason University’s Center for Media and Public Affairs. Those 1,060 punchlines tower over the numbers hit during the entire first years of recent presidents: 936 for Barack Obama in 2009; 546 for George W. Bush in 2001; and 440 for Bill Clinton in 1993.
“Donald Trump is head and shoulders above the competition as the politician late night comedians most love to hate,” said Dr Robert Lichter, CMPA director.
The study also hands those newly angered “Fire Colbert” folks some buckshot to use: Stephen Colbert told the most Trump jokes (337), with Trevor Noah close behind (315). The hair-tousling Jimmy Fallon told 231 and Jimmy Kimmel was at 177.
In all, the study counted 2,094 political jokes from the opening monologues of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah from January 20 through April 29, 2017.
Other findings:
-Trump “is on track to easily eclipse” previous record-holder Bill Clinton, who had 1,717 jokes told about him in 1998, when the Monica Lewinsky scandal dominated the news. Clinton’s tally was higher than any other individual tracked by CMPA from 1992 through 2012.
-The amount of Trump jokes nearly tripled the combined 385 joke total of all Democratic politicians (95) and non-administration Republican politicians (290).
-Trump’s family members were the butts of an additional 97 jokes, more than all Democrats combined. When the Trump family jokes are combined with the 373 jokes that were directed toward other members of his administration, the Trump-related joke total rises to 1,530.
The CMPA will update the joke tally through Trump’s time in office.
