Top 10 joke targets:
1. Donald Trump, 308
2. Hillary Clinton, 107
3. Jeb Bush, 76
4. Bernie Sanders, 58
5. Ben Carson, 51
6. Lincoln Chafee, 32
7. Chris Christie, 31
8. (tie) Ron Paul and Scott Walker, 20 each
10. Carly Fiorina, 16
Donald Trump attracted more jokes on late-night TV talk shows than the rest of the Republican presidential candidates combined, according to a new study released by the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University. The GOP field was targeted more than twice as often as the Democratic presidential rivals. The study also found that Hillary Clinton was second to Trump as a joke target.
The study covered opening monologues on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” and “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31. The joke totals will be updated throughout the 2016 Presidential campaign.
The research was conducted by George Mason professor Robert Lichter, director of the Center for Media and Public Affairs, in cooperation with the Media Research Center, which provided video of the late-night talk shows. The center has been tabulating political jokes on late-night TV since 1992. This is the seventh presidential cycle the center has covered.
The center is a nonpartisan research and education organization that brings a scientific approach to media coverage and its impact on American culture.
“The hosts and the formats may be different—more skits, fewer monologues—but one thing never changes,” said Lichter, coauthor of the 2015 book “Politics Is a Joke!,” “comedians love to make fun of presidential candidates.
“Donald Trump is a GOP frontrunner who makes news and creates controversy wherever he goes. All this makes him irresistible to TV’s late-night comics. But if Trump fades, they’ll find foibles in other candidates to pick up the slack.”
Major Findings:
- Donald Trump was the target of 308 jokes, more than the rest of the GOP field combined (282 jokes). The number two Republican target was Jeb Bush with 76 jokes.
- Among all candidates, Hillary Clinton finished a distant second with 107 jokes, nearly twice as many as her Democratic opponent Bernie Sanders’ 58 jokes.
- Republicans were targeted by more than twice as many jokes as Democrats—590 to 230.
- Only 9 percent of all jokes about candidates concerned their policies or proposals. By contrast, 71 percent concerned personal traits, such as their personality or appearance.
- Jimmy Fallon told the most candidate jokes—264—followed by Colbert (249), Kimmel (203) and Noah, who joined “The Daily Show” on Sept. 28, with 113.