Conan O’Brien Urges Fellow Comedians to Stop Crying About Trump and Warns They Are No Longer Funny
Conan O’Brien during an appearance at the Oxford Union in the United Kingdom.
Comedian and talk show host Conan O’Brien has called on fellow comedians to stop focusing so much on criticizing President Trump.
Speaking at the Oxford Union in the United Kingdom, O’Brien addressed a trend among some comics, without naming anyone directly, who spend much of their airtime targeting the current administration.
“Some comics go the route of ‘I’m just going to say F Trump all the time’… that’s their comedy,” O’Brien said. “And I think, well, a little bit, you’re being co-opted because you’re so angry. You’ve been lulled. It’s like a siren leading you into the rocks. You’ve been lulled into just saying ‘F Trump. F Trump. F Trump. Screw this guy.’”
TUNE IN: Conan O’Brien slams comedians going after President Trump.
“I think you’ve now put down your best weapon, which is being funny and you’ve exchanged it for anger… If you’re a comedian, you always need to be funny.”pic.twitter.com/AgkDdsAVbC
— Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) January 8, 2026
O’Brien argued that by focusing solely on anger, comedians risk losing their strongest tool: humor. “You’ve now put down your best weapon, which is being funny, and you’ve exchanged it for anger,” he said. “If you’re a comedian, you always need to be funny. You just have to find a way to channel that anger… because good art will always be a great weapon against power. But if you’re just screaming and you’re just angry, you’ve lost your best tool in the toolbox.”
While O’Brien has criticized President Trump, he has also lampooned him in personal ways. In 2018, following reports that Trump referred to Haiti as among a list of “shithole countries,” O’Brien traveled to Haiti and stayed in luxury hotels. Since that trip, Haiti has faced multiple coups and is widely considered politically unstable.
The U.S. Department of State currently advises against travel to Haiti, citing risks including kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and limited healthcare.
O’Brien has not returned to Haiti since his 2018 visit.
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