After a strike-shortened 2023, 2024 was a busy year for the late night comedians. During the last year, the men of late night told a total of 13,676 political jokes, of which 11,226, or 82 percent, were directed at someone or something on the right side of the political aisle, an MRC study has found.
From January 8 through December 19, MRC analysts analyzed all five of the daily late night talk shows: Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers, and CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
A complete breakdown of all 13,676 jokes can be found here, but detailed below is a summary of all five shows, both collectively and individually.
Late Night 2024 Findings: 768 Episodes
Of the remaining jokes, 2,295 targeted the left and 155 were directed at people, groups, or institutions not associated with either side. Additionally, 679 unique targets were joked about, 402 of which were on the right, 237 of which were on the left, and 40 of which were non-partisan. 
For the purposes of this study, any Democrat who switched sides and has been nominated for a job in the upcoming Trump Administration is considered a Republican. With that in mind, the comedians’ top ten featured only one Democrat. Those ten were: Donald Trump (5,980), Joe Biden (1,117), JD Vance (368), Republicans (255), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (238), MAGA/Trump supporters (222), Rudy Giuliani (221), Melania Trump (181), Kristi Noem (168), and Matt Gaetz (164).
Generic jokes about Republicans outnumbered those about Democrats 255-101, while generic jokes about conservatives outnumbered those about liberals 98-27.
Vice President-elect JD Vance had more jokes about him than both the incumbent vice president and his campaign counterpart combined, 368-203. (Kamala Harris: 92, Tim Walz: 111)
Jokes about GOP congressional leadership outnumbered those about Democratic leadership 149-23. (Mike Johnson: 90, Mitch McConnell: 55, John Thune: 4 vs. Chuck Schumer 22, Hakeem Jefferies: 1).
When it came to mocking presidential kids, Donald Trump Jr. (145) and Eric Trump (144) outnumbered those about Hunter Biden 289-26.
Conservative media was also joked about far more often than liberal media. Fox News jokes led CNN/MSNBC jokes 107-27 (CNN: 17, MSNBC: 10). Tucker Carlson was the most joked about conservative media personality with 79, while Jake Tapper was the most joked about liberal media personality with 9. For the purposes of this section, former Fox & Friends host and current Defense Secretary-designate Pete Hegseth is no longer considered a media personality.
Jokes about conservatives on the Supreme Court also outnumbered liberal justices 96-1 (Samuel Alito: 32, Clarence Thomas: 30, conservative bloc: 25, Brett Kavanaugh: 6, John Roberts: 2, Neil Gorsuch: 1 vs. Elena Kagan: 1).
Finally, there are the presidential cabinets. Analysts chose four controversial Biden secretaries and compared them to their controversial Trump counterparts:
- Defense: Lloyd Austin (AWOL scandal) vs. Pete Hegseth (drinking, allegations of sexual misconduct, lack of bureaucratic experience).
- Justice: Merrick Garland (oversaw controversial Trump prosecutions) vs. Matt Gaetz (allegations of sexual misconduct, withdrew from nomination) and Pam Bondi
- Homeland Security: Alejandro Mayorkas (impeached for handling of the border crisis) vs. Kristi Noem (dog-shooting scandal)
- Health and Human Services: Xavier Becerra (only qualification was suing pro-life crisis pregnancy centers) vs. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (history of anti-vaccine activism)
Trump’s nominees outpaced Biden’s secretaries 669-10 (Kennedy 238-0 over Becerra, Noem 168-4 over Mayorkas, Gaetz (164) and Bondi (1) over Garland 165-5, and Hegseth over Austin 98-1).
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: 156 Episodes
NOTE: 24 episodes from June 24-August 22 were guest hosted. All numbers below are cumulative.
Jimmy Kimmel is the most mean-spirited name-caller and most partisan insult-hurler of the late-night quintet. In addition to having the most lopsided percentage, he had the highest joke total with 3,333 in 2024, and of these, 3,051, or 92 percent, were directed at right-leaning targets, 265 were directed against left-leaners, and 17 were directed against non-partisans. Additionally, Kimmel and his guest hosts focused on 211 unique targets, 164 of whom were on the right, 40 of whom were on the left, and 7 of whom were non-partisan. 
Kimmel’s top ten featured only one person on the left. The list included Donald Trump (1,694), Joe Biden (146), MAGA/Trump supporters (95), Melania Trump (94), JD Vance (85), Donald Trump Jr. (79), Eric Trump (71), Mike Lindell (70), Marjorie Taylor Greene (55), and Ted Cruz (48).
Jokes about generic Republicans outnumbered generic Democrats 45-5 while jokes about conservatives outpaced liberals 26-1.
Contrasted with his Democratic counterparts, JD Vance jokes outnumbered Tim Walz and Kamala Harris jokes 85-25 (Walz: 15, Harris: 10).
Mike Johnson and Mitch McConnell outpaced their Democratic equivalents in Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer 17-0. (Johnson: 14, McConnell: 3)
Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump combined for 150 jokes, but Hunter Biden received only 13.
Jokes about Fox News outnumbered those about CNN 13-2. Tucker Carlson was the most joked-about conservative media personality at 21 while no liberal media figure had more than one.
When it came to the High Court, the conservatives were joked about more with an 8-0 score. (Conservative bloc: 4, Clarence Thomas: 3, Samuel Alito: 1)
For controversial cabinet members and nominees, Kristi Noem outnumbered Alejandro Mayorkas 37-0, Matt Gaetz led Merrick Garland 36-0, RFK Jr. led Xavier Becerra 25-0, and Pete Hegseth led Lloyd Austin 12-0 for a cumulative score of 110-0.
NBC: Late Night with Seth Meyers: 141 Episodes
With the help of his “Closer Look” segment, which is basically just primetime MSNBC with random digressions and elaborate eccentric metaphors, Seth Meyers works to provide his audience with the left’s latest talking points. To that end, he checked in with 3,230 total jokes in 2024, 2,736 or 85 percent of which targeted those on the right, 472 targeted those on the left, and 22 were non-partisan. Meyers targeted 214 unique people and groups, with 143 of those being on the right side of the spectrum, 56 on the left, and 15 being non-partisan.
Meyers’s top ten included only one liberal, a list that included Donald Trump (1,590), Joe Biden (292), Rudy Giuliani (92), JD Vance (84), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (57), Matt Gaetz (47), Elon Musk (45), Republicans (43), Marjorie Taylor Greene (37), and Kristi Noem (37). 
For his generic partisan jokes, the GOP outpaced Democrats 84-11 while conservatives outpaced liberals 12-4.
JD Vance also, once again, outnumbered his Democratic counterparts 84-32 (Tim Walz: 19, Kamala Harris: 13).
Republican leadership also continued to outpace Democratic leadership 33-3 (Mike Johnson: 24, Mitch McConnell: 8, John Thune: 1 vs. Chuck Schumer: 3).
Meanwhile, Fox News jokes led CNN/MSNBC 28-5 (CNN: 4, MSNBC: 1). Tucker Carlson was once again the most joked-about conservative media personality with 25, while no liberal media figure had more than one.
Meyers also ran up the score on the Supreme Court to the tune of 16-0 (Clarence Thomas: 9, conservative bloc: 4, John Roberts: 2, Samuel Alito: 1).
Trump nominees were joked about far more than Biden’s current secretaries at 155-2 (Kennedy 57-0 over Becerra, Gaetz (47) and Bondi (1) 48-2 over Garland, Noem 37-0 over Mayorkas, and Hegseth 13-0 vs. Austin).
CBS: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: 154 Episodes
Late night’s resident group therapist, Stephen Colbert is who liberals tune into for a cathartic experience where they boo Republicans and cheer their misfortune. Colbert reliably targeted Republicans in 2024 to the tune of 2,340 jokes out of a total of 2,862, or 82 percent. Of the remaining jokes, 479 were directed towards the left, with 43 being directed at non-partisan targets.
Colbert is the first host on our list to feature two liberals in his top ten. That list featured Donald Trump (1,210), Joe Biden (190), JD Vance (82), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (82), Republicans (64), Rudy Giuliani (48), Kristi Noem (47), Matt Gaetz (43), Tim Walz (40), and Nikki Haley (39). 
Generic jokes about Republicans outnumbered those about Democrats 64-17 while generic jokes about conservatives outnumbered those about liberals 10-4.
Yet again, Vance jokes outnumbered those of his counterparts 82-59 (Tim Walz: 40, Kamala Harris: 19)
Colbert’s jokes about GOP leadership outnumbered those about Democratic leadership 41-10 (Mike Johnson: 27, Mitch McConnell: 13, John Thune: 1 vs. Chuck Schumer: 10).
Likewise, jokes about Trump’s sons outnumbered those about Hunter Biden 42-2 (Eric Trump: 25, Donald Trump Jr.: 17)
Colbert also liked making fun of Fox News more than MSNBC (1) and CNN (2), as evident by the 15-3 score. Fox’s Bret Baier was the most joked about conservative media personality at 8, while CNN’s Wolf Blitzer was the most prominent liberal media personality joked about at 3.
The jokes about the High Court’s conservatives were quite a bit higher than the liberals at 37-1 (Samuel Alito: 22, Clarence Thomas: 6, conservative bloc: 6, Brett Kavanaugh: 3 vs. Elena Kagan: 1).
Colbert’s jokes about Trump’s cabinet nominees greatly outpaced Biden’s incumbents 205-3 (Kennedy over Becerra 82-0, Noem over Mayorkas 47-2, Gaetz over Garland 43-1, and Hegseth over Austin 33-0).
Comedy Central: The Daily Show: 141 Episodes
The Daily Show did not have a permanent host for the second year in a row, instead choosing to have former full-time host Jon Stewart helm the desk on Mondays while having a correspondent fill the chair Tuesdays through Thursdays. That included 33 shows hosted by Stewart, 28 by Michael Kosta, 26 (including specials) by Jordan Klepper, 20 by Desi Lydic, 19 by Ronny Chieng, three by Dulce Sloan, three co-hosted by Lydic and Kosta, three by Chieng and Klepper, two by Chieng and Lydic, and two by Lydic and Klepper.
All told, The Daily Show delivered 2,516 political jokes in 2024. Of these, 1,887, or 75 percent, targeted those on the right, 578 focused on the left, and 51 were non-partisan. The Daily Show focused its fire on 311 total targets, 171 of which were right-leaning, 122 of which were left-leaning, and 18 of which were non-partisan. 
The Daily Show’s top ten featured two left-leaners. The full list was: Donald Trump (740), Joe Biden (179), Republicans (91), JD Vance (76), MAGA/Trump supporters (63), Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (60), Democrats (53), Conservatives (50), Elon Musk (43), and Kristi Noem (40).
General jokes about conservatives exceeded those about liberals 50-18.
Again, JD Vance outpaced his counterparts of Tim Walz and Kamala Harris, this time to a score of 76-54 (Harris: 32, Walz: 22).
Additionally, GOP congressional leadership outpaced Democratic leadership 28-5. (Mike Johnson 19, Mitch McConnell: 9 vs. Chuck Schumer: 5)
Jokes about Trump’s sons outnumbered those about Hunter 19-6. (Donald Trump Jr.: 12, Eric Trump: 7).
Fox News fared worse than MSNBC and CNN combined with a tally of 34-14. (MSNBC: 8, CNN: 6) Tucker Carlson was again the most joked-about right-leaning media figure at 25, compared to CNN’s Jake Tapper at 7.
Jokes about the conservative Supreme Court justices outnumbered those about liberal justices 30-0. (Conservative bloc: 11, Clarence Thomas: 10, Samuel Alito: 7, Brett Kavanaugh: 2)
For cabinet controversies, Trump’s nominees outnumbered Biden’s current officials 170-2. (Kennedy 60-0 over Becerra, Noem 40-0 over Mayorkas, Hegseth 36-0 over Austin, Gaetz 34-2 over Garland).
NBC: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: 176 Episodes
With his affinity for wordplay and puns, Jimmy Fallon is the least mean-spirited of his contemporaries and tells considerably fewer jokes than the other four hosts. However, Fallon’s joke totals still had a slant that, while considerably less than the others, was still somewhat significant, with 1,212 of his 1,735 (70 percent) political jokes being directed towards the right. That left 501 for left-leaners and 22 for non-partisans.
Fallon poked fun at 195 unique targets, 116 of whom were on the right, 68 of whom were on the left, and 11 of whom were non-partisan. 
For his top ten, Fallon included only two Democrats. The list included Donald Trump (746), Joe Biden (310), JD Vance (41), Ron DeSantis (34), Melania Trump (30), Rudy Giuliani (25), Mitch McConnell (22), Eric Trump (22), Bernie Sanders (21), and Donald Trump Jr. (20).
Fallon's generic joke totals actually saw Democrats outpace Republicans 15-12. Fallon told no generic jokes about conservatives or liberals.
As with the other hosts, jokes about JD Vance outnumbered his Democratic equivalents 41-33 (Kamala Harris: 18, Tim Walz: 15).
Fallon also joked about GOP leadership more often than their Democratic counterparts, 30-5 (Mitch McConnell: 22, Mike Johnson: 6, John Thune: 2 vs. Chuck Schumer: 4, Hakeem Jefferies: 1).
Likewise, jokes about Trump’s sons outnumbered those about Hunter 42-3.
Fallon went light on specific media outlets, with Fox News outpacing CNN and MSNBC 7-3, with all three being directed at CNN. Fox's Sean Hannity was Fallon's most joked-about conservative media personality with 3 jokes, while CNN's Anderson Cooper was his most joked-about liberal personality at 2.
Similarly, Fallon largely avoided Supreme Court matters with jokes about conservative justices outnumbering those about liberals 4-0 (Clarence Thomas: 2, Samuel Alito: 1, Neil Gorsuch: 1).
Fallon also tended to avoid commenting on cabinet controversies relative to the other hosts with Trump’s picks outnumbering Biden’s 27-3 and with Kennedy beating Becerra 14-0, Noem beating Mayorkas 7-2, Gaetz beating Garland 4-0, and Hegseth beating Austin 2-1.
***
This study was the second annual MRC joke count study (click here for the 2023 version). The two-year tally now stands at 18,955 conservative jokes, 3,896 liberal jokes, and 341 non-partisan jokes, or 82 percent about conservatives. With Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Tim Walz not likely to be in the news a lot after January 20 and the Democratic National Convention not happening again until 2028, expect 2025’s percentage to be even higher.
Notes and Methodology: All monologue jokes about any of the four candidates were assessed, as well as any quips and comments about any of the candidates made during interviews or produced pieces.