TV Sidekick Great Gives Trump Three Words for Talk Show Attacks
Fellow extraordinaire Andy Richter took advantage of the attention to criticize President Donald Trump for his attacks on talk show hosts.
“Fuck that guy,” he told Entertainment Weekly this week.
Richter, who wrote, announced and acted as Conan O’Brien’s sidekick on “Late Night,” “The Tonight Show” and “Conan” for decades, said the two would have harshly attacked the administration in the current climate.
“We would be doing what everyone else is doing, which is all gas and no brakes,” Richter told the entertainment site.
Richter criticized the administration’s inability to take a joke and advised Trump and company to simply ignore the cracks. Meanwhile, he couldn’t help but take a cheap shot at the president.
“That they have to take themselves so seriously and use the wheels of government to crush those who make jokes. It’s very indicative of, I mean, a little idiot,” he snapped.
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The talk show scene has taken a grim turn since “Conan” went dark for good in 2021. In July, News announced it was canceling “The Late Show” and its Trump-mocking host Stephen Colbert. The show will end in May.
Then came the industry earthquake when Jimmy Kimmel was taken off the air by parent company Disney in September under pressure from Trump’s Federal Communications Commission, for a comment about MAGA and the alleged murderer of Charlie Kirk.
Kimmel returned several days later, but had already raised concerns about censorship.
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The tense atmosphere persists. Trump has escalated his attacks on “Late Night” host Seth Meyers and continues to threaten Kimmel.
“If you’re going after pranksters, you’re probably wrong,” Richter told EW. “That’s just a general rule that I would recommend to everyone.”
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