Despite Donald Trump‘s continuous jabs against a score of late-night talk show hosts, Jimmy Fallon says he doesn’t plan on wading deeper into political commentary waters than he already does.
During an interview with CNBC’s Squawk on the Street on Tuesday, the Tonight Show host told Carl Quintanilla that he and his show crew will continue to take the middle road and “hit both sides equally” when it comes to his late-night jabs.
Todd Owyoung/NBC
“Our show has never really been that political. We hit both sides equally, and we try to make everybody laugh, and that’s really the way our show works,” Fallon said. “Our monologues are kind of the same that we’ve been doing since Johnny Carson was hosting The Tonight Show. So really, I just keep my head down and make sure the jokes are funny.”
Noting that he has “great writers, clever, smart writers,” Fallon added that he and his team are “just trying to make the best show we possibly can and entertain everybody.”
It’s true that Fallon has always strived to keep his commentary light-hearted and taken aim at both Trump and former president Joe Biden — which the Saturday Night Live alum has garnered much criticism for.
Fallon’s approach to speaking out about the Trump administration is often a softer touch when compared to his fellow late-night hosts, which include Jimmy Kimmel, Late Night‘s Seth Meyers, The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert.
Political discussions on late-night TV have been thrust into the spotlight since July, when CBS announced that The Late Show would end in May 2026, several days after Colbert criticized the network’s parent company, Paramount, for settling a lawsuit from Trump.
Soon after, ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live from the airwaves for six days after affiliate groups like Nexstar and Sinclair preempted the show, citing Kimmel’s comments about Charlie Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson. The move was suggested by FCC chair Brendan Carr, who also criticized Kimmel’s comments.
The decision led to a wave of backlash from notable figures in Hollywood, including David Letterman, political commentator Keith Olbermann, and Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof, who all criticized the move as an attack on free speech.
Roy Rochlin/Getty; Frazer Harrison/Getty; Michael Loccisano/Getty
Trump celebrated both The Late Show‘s cancellation and Kimmel’s suspension on social media, gloating about two of his biggest critics being pulled off the air. The president also called for Fallon and Meyers to lose their shows, writing, “That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC,” he wrote in the same post. “Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!”
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When ABC reinstated Kimmel, Trump reacted with fury: “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled!” he wrote. “I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative.”
Despite Trump’s words, Kimmel has been anything but quiet since his return to air. On Tuesday, the Live! host shared a photo of himself with Colbert and Meyers posing in front of an audience at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard Gilman Opera House in New York City, where Kimmel is taping this week of shows.
Kimmel captioned the post, “Hi Donald!”
When reached for comment on the post by Entertainment Weekly, a White House spokesperson replied, “Who cares?
