Liberal Guests Outnumber Conservatives 93 to 1 on Late Night

Late-night comedy shows ended 2022 having a unanimously liberal guest number. That trend continued until January 31, a NewsBusters study found.

MRC analysts discovered that liberal guests outnumbered conservative ones 93 to 1 from Labor Day through January 31. It was 99% liberal and/or Democrat. Jimmy Kimmel mocked Mike Lindell, My Pillow CEO.

This is follow up to MRC’s late night guest election campaign study.

The study looked at the daily six late night comedy shows: ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers  The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert  The Late Late Show with James Corden, and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show With Trevor Noah 2023 hosts for temp host. Fox’s Gutfeld! It was not included. 

MRC analysts divided guests into two categories: partisan officials and then journalists and celebrities.

It was the number of politicians that mattered most. 27 Democrats to Zero Republicans Stephen Colbert won with ten. Noah came in second at seven. Meyers was third at four. Fallon came in fourth at three. Kimmel came fifth at two. Corden was sixth at one.

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Texas Democratic gubernatorial nominee Beto O’Rourke, and former First Lady Michelle Obama were the guests who appeared multiple times during the length of the study. Obama’s appearance was broken into multiple episodes so it counts as multiple appearances. He was the only guest who appeared three times.

For celebrities and journalists, the results were 66 liberals to one conservative Stephen Colbert, again, was the most partisan with 21. Trevor Noah The Daily Show The temp hosts were second at 17 (11 to Noah, 1 to Leslie Jones; 2 for Wanda Sykes; 3 for D.L. Hughley). Meyers, Fallon and Hughley tied for bronze with ten. Kimmel came in fifth place with seven points, and Corden with one was the least partisan.

Lindell’s groundbreaking appearance was contingent on him agreeing to the interview from a claw-machine. Kimmel hosted the interview with Lindell, his first appearance as a right-leaning guest since Lindell’s 644 day old appearance on April 28, 2021. It also marked the first time such a guest has appeared on late night since Sen. Tim Scott’s August 8, 2022 edition. The Daily Show This was just 177 days before. The methodology section below is for Republicans who actively work to help Democrats get elected.

Of the guests, CBS’s Gayle King, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos and Michael Strahan, HBO’s John Oliver, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, MSNBC’s Alex Wagner, Chelsea Handler, and Trevor Noah each had multiple appearances. Oliver was the only person to appear three times.

These were the results for outlet:

1. CNN/CNN International 12 (12 (ten current, and then passed host Soledad O’Brien and reporter Maria Ressa).

2. MSNBC/NBC: 9

3. Comedy Central: 6

T4: CBS, ABC: 5

6. HBO: 4

7. New York Times 3

8. PBS: 2

T9: NPR The Nation The Atlantic 1

Fox News had zero.

Here’s a quick breakdown of all six shows and their guests.

STEPHEN COBERT: Alex Wagner and Tony Dokoupil, Gayle Kings, Nina Totenberg George Stephanopoulos, Ken Burns, John Oliver, Clarissa Ward, Anderson Cooper (twice), Maggie Haberman, Nikole-Hannah Jones, Pete ButtigiegSamantha Power Nancy Pelosi, Anthony FauciCody Keenan Elizabeth Warren, Ernest Moniz, Janet Yellen, John Dickerson, Jon Stewart, Don Lemon, Maria Ressa, Michelle Obama (Do it twice), Chris Wallace, Jeremy Pope, Trevor Noah, Adam Kinzinger, and Audie Cornish. 

TREVOR NOAH George Stephanopoulos, Christiane Amanpour, Maggie Haberman, Michael Fanone, Chelsea Manning, Soledad O’Brien, Elizabeth Banks, Marty Walsh, Beto O’Rourke, Cori Bush, Stacey AbramsRaphael Warnock Barack Obama, Wes Moore, Mark Leibovich, Ondi TimonerTressie McMillan Cottom and Michael Strahan.

DAILY SHOW TEMP HOOSTS Alexis McGill Johnson, Katha Pollitt, Sherilyn Ifill, Benjamin Crump, Nic Stone and Ibram Kennedi

SETH MEYERS – Gayle King, John Oliver and Jake Tapper Chelsea Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Chelsea Handler, Steve Kornacki, Chris Hayes, Roy Wood Jr, Leslie Jones, Jonathan LemireAnd Alex Wagner.

JIMMY FALLON Rachel Maddow Trevor Noah, Chelsea Clinton, Hillary ClintonSigourney Weber Jen Psaki, Michael Strahan. Whoopi goldberg, James Corden. Savannah Guthrie. Hoda Koko, Chelsea Handler. John Oliver.

JIMMY KIMMEL: David Letterman, Beto O’Rourke, Michelle Obama, Bill Maher, George Conway, Jane Fonda and Sally Field. Rita Moreno. Lily Tomlin., Mike Lindell

JAMES CORDEN – Yuval Noah Harai Pete Buttigieg.

Methodology: The study ran Labor Day, September 5, through New Year’s Eve on December 31. Journalists were defined as either liberal or conservative without regard to the segment’s subject matter. A celebrity could be a former late-night host, political activist or any other person who was known to talk about politics. A celebrity who is well-known for their strong political views but does not discuss politics was excluded.

A partisan official is a politician, White House staffer and cabinet secretary, as well as any children of these individuals, who are on the same side to discuss politics, except if they are associated with a media outlet.

Interesting Cases Jen Psaki was included in the role of former White House press secretary. This role is not related to her current role at MSNBC nor her previous role at CNN. George Stephanopoulos was selected for his current position at ABC, and not his time during the Clinton Administration. Dr. Anthony Fauci, despite serving under both parties, was listed as a Democrat due to him taking on a new role as President Biden’s chief medical advisor. For their active opposition to Republicans, George Conway is identified as a liberal. Kinzinger is not identified as a former congressman but as a CNN personality.