Since President Donald Trump took office in January, comedians and politicians alike have been poking fun at his administration. Now, after news of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assasination was featured on headlines worldwide, political comedy is under the weight of increased censorship by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). This is a form of government censorship and is not only an attack on comedy but also on our freedom of speech.
According to Alison Dagnes, a political science professor at Shippensburg University, political satire has been used throughout American history as a gentle form of commentary. Politicians, news outlets and comedians have used humor as a tool to reach voters, criticize candidates and combat polarization.
Today, political comedy is present in most media, from animated sitcoms and late-night comedy shows to social media. These platforms have also become prime opportunities for candidates to connect with voters through comedy. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, for example, released many memes during her presidential campaign, such as pictures comparing her crowd sizes to Trump’s.
Some find political comedy offensive at times, but humor is an essential part of free speech in the U.S., especially during times of struggle. “I think [political comedy] definitely lightens some of the terror [because] it leans into the absurdity of the things that are happening,” English teacher Lindsey Collins said. “There’s so much happening that [is] so unbelievably dumb that making fun of it is a human need. … If you didn’t laugh, you’d cry.”
Since Trump took office, he has put forward multiple nonsensical and dangerous directives. Some of these — such as putting tariffs on goods from allied countries, removing funding for education and healthcare, and deporting U.S. citizens — have directly contradicted traditional American values of democracy, equality and individual rights as presented in the Constitution.
The absurdity of these events has encouraged many Americans to voice their opinions using comedy. “I’ve been noticing a lot of comedy and politics [targeting Trump] within all these late-night talk shows,” Cole Ambrocente ’26 said. “Recently, there’s been a lot of these comedies online — like [on] Tiktok, … [with] people making jokes about the administration.”
There have been countless memes and posts online mocking the Trump administration. One of my personal favorites features altered images of Vice President JD Vance’s face, which has gone viral since the meeting between Vance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Trump on Feb. 25. These grotesque and bloated images of Vance circulated widely, leading to a British activist group following Vance around with a van displaying these photos during his vacation in the United Kingdom.
Another highlight is the posts on X that California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office released this summer. The posts, which each gathered more than five million views, mock Trump’s notorious tweeting style: capital letters, grammatical errors and personal insults. “DONALD (TINY HANDS) TRUMP HAS WRITTEN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY THIS MORNING — UNFORTUNATELY, (LOW IQ) HE SPELLED IT WRONG — BETA,” Newsom’s press office posted.
The prevalence of political comedy satirizing the current administration reveals widespread disapproval over the direction our country is headed. During Trump’s first term, there was a rise in political comedy as well. A 2018 Washington Post study found that Trump was the most laughed-about politician in any year of late-night comedy history. During Trump’s first year in office, 49% of all late-night jokes were directed at him.
“Comedy always rises in times of strife and friction,” Essentials of Comedy teacher Maya Herbsman ’13 said. “What’s unique about what’s happening now is that there’s a higher level of censorship and repercussions happening around comedy — like what we’re seeing in late-night [comedy shows] with Colbert and with Kimmel. Even people [who are] making jokes about recent events online are losing jobs.”
Since the assassination of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, Americans in various fields have lost their jobs due to comments they made about Kirk. In many of these cases, Kirk’s death has been weaponized by the administration to censor voices that critique their agenda. On Sept. 17, for example, ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show due to pressure from the FCC, despite Kimmel’s comments being pointed towards Trump’s handling of Kirk’s death, not about Kirk or his beliefs.
Although Kimmel was able to return to ABC on Sept. 23, the FCC’s ability to threaten ABC with consequences is a direct breach of the First Amendment, rightfully sparking public backlash. “It’s wild … and horrifying that we are in a place where you can’t make fun [of the government],” Collins said. “We are hearing so much about how free speech is so important. [But it seems that] free speech is important unless it’s a comedian who doesn’t share your political views.”
Kimmel criticized the government’s response in his first show since his suspension. He said, “The president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke.”
When countries face oppressive regimes, comedy often steps into the spotlight and becomes a line of defence against authoritarianism. “We [comedians] are the banana peel in the coal mine — when a society is under threat, comedians are the ones who get sent away first. It’s just a reminder to people that democracy is under threat,” comedian Jon Stewart said in an acceptance speech at The Kennedy Center for the 2022 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
The future of comedy and free speech in America is unclear, especially given the recent censorship of political comedy. “Censorship of any kind is inherently dangerous and disturbing. And when we’re trying to censor comedy, … it does not bode well for the art as a whole. It does not bode well for free speech,” Herbsman said.
Comedy and politics have intertwined since our nation’s founding, and the risk of losing it should motivate us to fight back. “Comedy, at its core, is meant to be about connection, relief and bringing lightness, joy and humor. … So when there’s an attempt to snuff that out, I think that is taking a pretty direct target at our culture,” Herbsman said. “My hope would be that this [increased censorship] would lead to more folks to fight to be able to say what they want.”