Comedians say Colbert cancellation will bring more Trump jokes
Controversy has always driven comedy, and so it was this weekend at iO Fest — the largest improv comedy festival in Chicago — as the Whirled News Tonight team scoured the news of the day for comedic bits.
In the show, real headlines from newspapers fuel improv sketches. Naturally, one of the first headlines included President Donald Trump and how his administration had just released billions of dollars of education funding. The team of seven comedians quickly flipped several jokes about the education budget and the lack of funding in classrooms.
Last year, this same festival unfolded just as former President Joe Biden decided to exit the 2024 presidential race. But this year, the torrent of political news is more relentless, and it’s hitting close to home, with CBS’ decision to cancel “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Joking about the president is inevitable on a show that rips themes from headlines, said local comic James Dugan, who typically performs with Whirled News Tonight (he did not appear at iO Fest this year).
“If we grabbed the newspaper and took out every article that mentioned Trump, we would eliminate about 75% of the newspaper,” said Dugan. “Up until a day or two ago, we at least knew we could do the sports section, but now he's talking about sports also,” Dugan added, a nod to Trump's recent call for the Washington Commanders to adopt their previous Redskins moniker.
While a South Carolina native, Colbert is a Chicago-trained comic who built his career in many venues that Chicago comedians still frequent today, including Second City and Annoyance Theatre.
The fallout from the Colbert cancellation so far, several local comedians and talk show hosts said, will be even more jokes about Trump, not fewer.
“That would go for whoever is the president,” said Mark Bazer, the local late night host behind The Interview Show at the Hideout. His show is also broadcast on WTTW. “That’s the gig. My guess is there's very few comedians or late night talk show hosts who are going to bend the knee.”
Bazer said Colbert had likely tempered his comments on the president, but now that his show has been cancelled, he can “take the gloves off.”
“We've all seen late night talk shows over the years. It's a tradition to make fun of whoever's in power, like, that's what the job entails,” he said.
Dugan said there’s been so much Trump news, the comedians worry about oversaturation.
“A lot of times with our show in particular, we get four or five newspapers and spread them out,” explained Dugan. “And there is a little bit of a sense of like, should we take out the Trump stuff? Because people are kind of sick of hearing about it.”
Stand up comedian Eunji Kim, who previously hosted a “Comedians for Kamala” event during the Democratic National Convention, said late-night comedians like Colbert have been triggering for Trump because they aren’t just reacting to the news, they are at times delivering it.
“Comedians come from a place of punching up,” she said. “Ultimately, that's what's so infuriating. We can do that in an incisive way that makes people laugh, and there's nothing that upsets powerful people who are accustomed to feeling important, like dealing with someone for whom that is not a thing. It cuts them to the core of their insecurity.”
Kim said late night comedy has a place in society where the hosts, who are comedians, would sometimes do the work of informing the audience. “The Daily Show absolutely did that work during Bush the second’s administration and that’s why it was so novel. Also, it's a different thing than a 10-minute set at a club.”
Kim thinks everyone, not just audiences, should be taking notes on what Colbert’s cancellation — and lawsuits against major news networks — means on a macro level. “The fact that a sitting public official is doing so much private litigation, and that it results in this type of thing — it’s dangerous.”
Mike Davis is a theater reporter who covers stages across Chicago.