Conan O'Brien Gives Anti-Trump Comedians a Tough Reality Check: 'You're Being Co-Opted'
This story invites readers to think of a single word — any word — that defines modern liberalism. Then, having thought of that word, go ahead and imagine its effect on comedy.
In the meantime, consider the sage advice of longtime comedian Conan O’Brien, who recently warned his peers that their intense anger toward President Donald Trump has undermined their craft.
“You’re being co-opted,” he said in a clip posted to the social media platform X.
According to Fox News, O’Brien made those comments Tuesday during an interview with the Oxford Union.
“Some comics go the route of I’m gonna just say ‘F Trump’ all the time, or that’s their comedy,” O’Brien said. “And I think well, now a little bit, you’re being co-opted, because you’re so angry. You’ve been lulled. It’s like a siren leading you into the rocks. You’ve been lulled into just saying ‘F Trump. F Trump. F Trump. Screw this guy.’ And I think you’ve now put down your best weapon, which is being funny, and you’ve exchanged it for anger.”
No one, of course, should mistake O’Brien for a Trump supporter. But the comedian hit the nail on the head.
In short, anti-Trump propagandists such as late-night hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and, to a lesser extent, Jimmy Fallon, have failed miserably, because they have substituted their Trump Derangement Syndrome for actual humor. Thus, instead of making sane and decent people laugh, they come across as petty and bitter.
“And that person or any person like that would say, ‘Well, things are too serious now. I don’t need to be funny,'” O’Brien continued. “And I think, well, if you’re a comedian, you always need to be funny. You just have to find a way. And you just have to find a way to channel that anger into a way that is — because good art will always be a great weapon, will always be a perfect weapon against power. But if you’re just screaming and you’re just angry, you’ve lost your best tool in the toolbox.”
🚨NEW: Conan O’Brien *ROASTS* TDS-afflicted comedians🤣
“I think you’ve now put down your best weapon — which is being funny — and you’ve exchanged it for anger.”
“If you’re a comedian, you always need to be funny.”@DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/pa1RfL5u6p
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) January 7, 2026
O’Brien, of course, gave excellent advice. One would think that real comedians would not have to learn to prioritize humor over rage, but obviously, they do.
That, however, leads to a key question: Do most modern liberal comedians even understand humor? And that question forces us to grapple with two things.
First, think about the kind of people who have made you laugh. Have you ever sensed that any of them lacked the capacity for self-deprecation? If you had sensed that about them, would you have found them funny?
Now, remember the word you chose to define modern liberalism. I chose “smugness.” Many readers probably chose something similar.
Do smug people who cannot laugh at themselves make good comedians?
Second, could TDS-afflicted liberals change course if they heeded O’Brien’s advice?
They could. But they would have to surrender the very thing they have allowed to define themselves: namely, their hatred of Trump.
That task qualifies as easier said than done. After all, at least one mental-health professional who sees patients on a regular basis has classified TDS as a genuine pathology.
In short, O’Brien had it right, but do not expect Colbert, Kimmel, and their deranged ilk to suddenly discover comedy.
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