The Surge of Presidential Candidates in American Late Night Comedy Shows

Some television critics in America believe we are living in a unique era of high-quality late-night comedy shows; programs that have a somewhat similar structure and are broadcast on various television networks during late-night hours. (After decades of success for these shows in America, an Iranian copy called 'Khandavaneh' has also gained remarkable popularity in Iran.) Presidential candidates in the U.S., while striving to appear unique and different within their party, cannot easily overlook these comedy shows. Especially in recent years, when Barack Obama introduced a completely different image of the 'President' to the American public, transforming the role from a grim, scowling position to that of a down-to-earth, energetic, and creative individual. In this context, as we approach the first intra-party elections to introduce the final candidates for the U.S. presidential election, there isn't a week that goes by without one of the election contenders appearing on a well-known comedy show. Although these shows generally have liberal hosts who support the Democratic Party, due to their millions of viewers, they provide an exceptional opportunity for advertising, which is why candidates from both parties participate. Moreover, in these successful interviews, it is not just about promoting their programs and attacking rivals; candidates have the chance to present a different image of themselves and, with a bit of humor, distance themselves from the dry and formal image of a 'politician' and show themselves as ordinary citizens. This aspect of the interviews makes them highly appealing. In light of the surge of such interviews, I will review some of the funniest interviews of candidates with prominent comedians: Among the candidates' appearances on these various programs, one of the most successful occurred this week. On Saturday's 'Saturday Night Live,' Hillary Clinton appeared alongside an actor who had previously played her role in several episodes. This program, the American equivalent of 'Happy Hour,' has been broadcast live from New York every week since the mid-1970s. In this episode, Clinton played the role of a bartender who chats with an actor portraying her. The live nature of the show, Clinton's preparedness for her performance, the humor of the dialogues—so much so that even the actor playing Clinton burst into laughter during the performance—and the not-so-complex messages about Clinton being progressive and liberal made this appearance one of the best by a candidate on a comedy show. Donald Trump is one of the most recurring subjects of jokes among candidates, and he is referenced in nearly all shows, with comedians trying to make the audience laugh at his expense. However, this does not prevent Trump from leveraging his own humor! One of the best impersonators of him among comedy show hosts is Jimmy Fallon. His portrayal of Trump, complete with an orange wig and dark skin, is unmatched, and he has made audiences laugh many times by recreating this character. The peak of this performance was when Donald Trump himself came for an interview on Jimmy Fallon's show. On that day, Fallon created a comedic segment where he sat in front of a mirror as Trump, with the real Trump on the other side. Few politicians are as flexible in the face of criticism as Trump. In this interview, which was filled with sharp jokes and biting criticisms from Fallon, Trump still managed to defend his programs and convey his message to a different audience. Stephen Colbert, who has taken over from the legendary David Letterman on CBS this year, has hosted various candidates in his interview chair. Having peeled back Trump's layers for years on his previous show on Comedy Central (The Colbert Report), he shows no mercy to him on CBS either. One of Colbert's most successful jokes with Trump occurred during his interview with Jeb Bush. In the middle of this interview, which occasionally took on a serious tone and allowed Bush to promote himself, Colbert asked Bush to answer a question like Trump would. Bush read his response from a script prepared by the show's writers, making himself seem funny while also successfully mocking Trump, resulting in a hilarious program. Colbert also interviewed Trump during this time. Perhaps expectations for this interview were so high that when it aired, some were disappointed. However, just the confrontation between Colbert and Trump could excite many. The highlight of this interview was when Colbert candidly referenced his years of criticism of Trump and sincerely apologized to him—a move that seemed unlikely from Colbert. Immediately after this apology, he asked Trump if he had ever apologized to anyone. At the time of this interview's airing, Trump was under significant pressure to apologize to Mexican immigrants and women for his anti-Mexican and anti-women remarks. However, with a theatrical and seemingly hesitant gesture, Trump told Colbert that no, he would not apologize to anyone. Among the candidates from both parties, Bernie Sanders, the Democratic candidate representing the progressive layers of this party, has long described himself as a 'socialist' and is one of the most popular candidates for appearances on late-night comedy shows. He first appeared as a special guest on Bill Maher's show; an appearance that coincided with Sanders' rise in the polls and, according to some, a sign of the seriousness of Sanders' campaign. Bill Maher, one of the most politically engaged comedians in America, has played an active role in supporting the Democratic Party during recent election campaigns and has stated multiple times on his show that he donated a million dollars to Barack Obama's previous campaign. In his interview with Sanders, Maher gave him the opportunity to patiently promote his programs. Sanders has also appeared on Stephen Colbert's and Seth Meyers' shows, both of which have been suitable media opportunities for him. He is one of the few candidates who, when appearing on late-night comedy shows in front of popular comedians, does not face tough challenging questions and always benefits from the audience's empathy in the studio and their continuous applause. Among the storm of candidates' appearances on comedy shows, three interviews by Jimmy Fallon with Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina (both Republicans) and Hillary Clinton (a Democrat) stand out as some of the most creative interviews. In fact, one of the characteristics of Jimmy Fallon's show on NBC is that his interviews often include at least one special comedic element. Sometimes he engages in funny improvised games with his guests. Other times, his guests have the opportunity to share an interesting story based on a pre-planned question, making the audience laugh. This feature of Fallon, which appeared in his interview with Trump as Trump standing in front of a mirror, is also seen in his other interviews. In his interview with Hillary Clinton, he appeared in Trump's guise; in his interview with Carly Fiorina, he brought up her dogs and her singing, giving Fiorina the chance to sing; and in his interview with Chris Christie, he showed a photo that led to a memory Christie shared about a family outing with Mitt Romney and Marco Rubio. (Christie told this story so well that the day after the interview, some wrote about his acting talent!) In this regard, from now until the day the next tenant of the White House moves in, Carly Fiorina shined, but Donald Trump remained at the top.