Jim Gaffigan explains why he avoids politics in his stand-up comedy

Comedian Jim Gaffigan explained in an interview why he mostly stays away from politics in his stand-up material these days.

Gaffigan told Variety. Comedy fans don’t attend stand-up shows to hear lectures; They go to escape from the real world and just laugh at stupid jokes.

When the interviewer mentioned the recent crossover between comedy and politics, Gaffigan responded: “People come to the show to take a break from some of this drama. That doesn’t mean there aren’t great comedians talking about social commentary – the spirit of George Carlin is very important.” and recalled that the political jokes he made after President Donald Trump’s first election victory in 2016 did not come true as he had imagined.

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“I remember when Trump was first elected, and there were some political jokes in my opening act. In 2016 and 2017, the audience would kind of stare at the ceiling. The jokes were well-constructed and not on one side or the other, but it was just too much,” he continued. “There are great comedians joining this conversation, but people are already getting 24-hour news and everything is being clipped and [proliferated] everywhere. Not only is the material evergreen, but it is also so topical that it takes half a day. People are looking for a break from this.”

The comedian added that viewers are not ignoring serious problems, they just want a short escape. “At least I can go see Jim Gaffigan and hear him complain about being a parent,” he said. “That doesn’t mean people don’t care about someone being attacked on the street; it just means that maybe they want to take a break from it.”

Earlier in the interview, Gaffigan touched on the backlash he received after performing at the Al Smith Dinner, an annual white-tie fundraiser for Catholic charities and famous for his comedic speeches, and not going after Trump with everything he had.

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“Al Smith, my best friend since childhood, was furious that I was eating his food. He said, ‘I can’t believe you didn’t destroy Trump.’ And I said, ‘I know it wouldn’t change anything.’ And the mission was to attack both sides, surrounded by billionaires,” he recalled.

The comedian also appeared on “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) last year to meet Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn. He talked about his impressions of it and why he felt it was different than bringing up politics in a stand-up routine.

“The Tim Walz thing, I was in the environment of ‘SNL,’ and every sketch has a cultural interpretation. Intellectually, I know this: Nobody’s going to listen to me,” he explained. “I also want to be able to look my children in the eye and say that I did not allow such a terrible thing to happen. I also feel comforted that people know my views. But I don’t know if being an advocate would help – as with the Mamdani incident, this has been extremely divisive.”

Gaffigan impersonated Gov. Tim Walz on “Saturday Night Live” last year. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)

He added that when he saw fellow comedian Stavros Halkias openly supporting Zohran Mamdani, he thought to himself: “‘I don’t know if this helps him.’ Maybe I’m being naive.”

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This isn’t the first time in recent memory that Gaffigan has shared his thoughts on the intersection of politics and comedy and why he chooses to stay out of it.

Shortly after his appearance on SNL impersonating Walz, Gaffigan discussed his negative feelings regarding previous anti-Trump social media posts. report With The Daily Beast in January. He expressed regret that Trump supporters took Trump’s criticism of the president personally in 2020.

“I’m upset that people think I’m criticizing people who support Trump. And that was never my intention. I’m sorry; someone said, I can’t follow you anymore, and I kind of said, ‘F you,'” the comedian said. he said.

Comedian Jim Gaffigan said he was saddened that Trump supporters took his old anti-Trump social media posts personally. (Rebecca Noble / Stringer | Dia Dipasupil / Staff)

Gaffigan attacked Trump in a series of tweets in 2020, when X was still Twitter and Trump was running for re-election. In one he wrote: “Look Trumpers, I get it. I was a Cubs fan when I was a kid and I know you guys stay loyal to your team no matter what but he’s a traitor and a cheater who doesn’t care about you. Deep down you know that. I’m sure you enjoy pissing people off but you also know Trump is a liar and a criminal.”

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Four years later, Gaffigan told the publication he expressed regret that the posts were received by some people, but emphasized that he did not regret sharing them.

“But it’s so weird because I think authenticity is a really important thing, not just as a comedian, but for your kids,” he said, adding: “For me, I don’t regret it, but at the same time I recognize that there are truths. die-hard Trump fans “They probably enjoy my comedy but will never forgive me for feeling so passionately about it.”

Fox News’ Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.