Before late-night hosts were delivering monologues that sounded like campaign stump speeches, Johnny Carson was the undisputed master of the apolitical zinger. He didn’t care if you were red, blue, or just tired from your shift at the steel mill—he wanted you to laugh.

Carson famously said, “I don’t want to take sides. I joke about both sides. I don’t want half the audience to turn off.” That wasn’t just a strategy—it was a philosophy. He saw comedy as a unifier, not a weapon. And in the pre-Twitter era, that meant something.

📺 Tonight Show vs. Today’s Show: A Tale of Two Tones

Let’s compare Carson’s approach to today’s late-night lineup:

Carson’s jokes were like a warm cup of decaf. Today’s are more like espresso shots with a side of rage.

🧠 Why Carson Avoided Politics (And Why It Worked)

• Mass Appeal: Carson’s audience spanned truck drivers in Iowa to stockbrokers in Manhattan.
• Network Pressure: NBC wanted ratings, not revolutions.
• Personal Preference: Carson was famously private and avoided controversy like it was a bad toupee.
• Timing: The political climate of the '70s and '80s wasn’t as polarized—or monetized—as today.

🎯 Carson’s Comedy Style: Setup, Punchline, Peace

Here’s a classic Carson-style joke:

“President Reagan said today he’s not worried about inflation. He’s got a secret weapon: he doesn’t understand it.”

See what he did there? Light jab, no blood. Reagan probably laughed. Nancy probably laughed. Even the guy who printed Reagan’s campaign buttons probably laughed.

Compare that to:

“Trump said he’d build a wall. I didn’t realize it was around his brain.”

Funny? Sure. But now half the country’s throwing remotes.

🧨 The Colbert Conundrum: When Satire Becomes Strategy

Stephen Colbert, once the king of parody on The Colbert Report, now delivers nightly sermons on The Late Show. His ratings soared during the Trump years, but critics argue he’s lost the comedy plot.

Jay Leno recently chimed in, saying late-night has become “too political.” That’s rich coming from the guy who once made Monica Lewinsky jokes a nightly ritual. But Leno’s point echoes Carson’s ghost: if you’re preaching, you’re not punchlining.

🧪 Can Apolitical Comedy Survive in 2025?

Let’s be honest—Carson’s style might not trend on TikTok. But there’s a hunger for comedy that doesn’t feel like a debate club. Fallon tries. Gutfeld tries (in his own Fox News way). But the middle ground is shrinking faster than a network budget.

What Would Carson Do?

• He’d probably roast both parties for their haircuts.
• He’d make fun of inflation by joking about the price of a cup of coffee at NBC.
• He’d invite both Biden and Trump on the couch—and ask them about their favorite sandwich.

🧩 The Legacy: Carson’s Influence on Comedy Writers

For comedy writers, Carson is the blueprint:

• Keep it tight: His jokes were short, sweet, and never required a think piece.
• Stay neutral: He knew the audience came for laughs, not lectures.
• Be classy: Even when he roasted someone, it felt like a gentle nudge, not a slap.

Writers today face a different beast—social media backlash, tribal audiences, and the pressure to “stand for something.” But Carson stood for comedy. And that’s not nothing.

🧼 Clean Jokes, Dirty World

In a world where every joke is dissected for political bias, Carson’s apolitical stance feels revolutionary. He wasn’t afraid to poke fun at politicians—he just didn’t pick favorites. That’s harder than it sounds.

Imagine trying to write a joke about Congress that doesn’t sound like a campaign ad. Carson did it nightly. And he did it with grace, timing, and a Midwestern wink.

🧭 Final Thoughts: Carson’s Compass Still Points True

Johnny Carson didn’t avoid politics because he was scared. He avoided it because he respected the audience. He knew people came to laugh, not to argue. And in today’s climate, that feels like a lost art.

So the next time a late-night host delivers a monologue that sounds like a TED Talk, ask yourself: What would Johnny do?

He’d probably smile, sip his coffee, and say, “Let’s get back to the jokes.”