If you abandon levity to embrace severity, then you abandon your humanity. I've become more and more convinced of this throughout the United States' Trump saga that started back in 2015 and has reached something of a fever pitch on the left over the past year.
The left has convinced itself that Donald Trump is such a monster and an unforgivable villain that anything about politics has to be handled with the ultimate degree of seriousness. If you're laughing, you're not taking this seriously enough.
This doesn't just go for the rank and file leftists, either. You can see just how "comedic" the left isn't by how its "comedians" tell their "jokes." Jimmy Kimmel is, for all intents and purposes, the greatest example I can give. His comedy is consistently centered around hating Trump, and it's evolved to the point where it stopped actually being humor, and it just started being anger with an "applause" light.
On Wednesday, Kimmel did a bit with printed T-shirts, one with the words "Donald Trump is going to kill you," and, after talking about the ICE officer being forced to shoot a woman trying to run him over, Kimmel held up another one that read "GET THE F**K OUT OF MPLS." The crowd was clapping and cheering at all the right moments, of course, but throughout the segment, I didn't really hear a single joke despite the moment being "comedic."
Jimmy Kimmel pushes the narrative that President Trump is ordering ICE to kill Americans:
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 8, 2026
"He isn't just killing people overseas..."
"Get the f*ck out of Minneapolis! Get the f*ck out of all of these cities!"
Why is ABC allowing such sick depravity on their network? pic.twitter.com/wsOUkCrxoe
Keep in mind this is a late-night program that is traditionally supposed to not only be comedic in tone, but also a sort of program to help you unwind at the end of a busy day. A light-hearted nightcap, if you will. That can't be, though. The left has fallen so deeply into its own severity that actual comedy begins to look inappropriate.
And this thinking has infected the left so deeply that it's seemingly driving them insane. It's also not doing them any favors in the PR department. Few people on the left seem to actually realize this.
Conan O'Brien, a former late-night show host and comedic writer of many a television show (including some of the most iconic episodes of The Simpsons), sat down and spoke at an Oxford Union Q&A on Wednesday, where he was asked if Trump's presence has changed comedy. I'd call his answer brilliant, but it wasn't. It's just flat-out common sense:
It's been very challenging comedically. Some comics go the route of "I'm just gonna say 'F Trump' all the time," or that's their comedy. 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." And I think you've now put down your best weapon, which is being funny, and you've exchanged it for anger. If you're just screaming and you're just angry, you've lost your best tool in the toolbox. 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 perfect weapon against power. A great weapon against power.
TUNE IN: Conan O'Brien slams comedians going after President Trump.
— Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) January 8, 2026
"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
Any legitimate point the left has is being lost in the mire of their rage, which is becoming more impotent by the day.
What makes it worse is that their only recourse is to dial up the rage even more. The answer to not being heard is, in their minds, to only get louder and angrier. As a result, their anxiety and depression spike, and reality starts to take a back seat.
There's real science behind this. As reported by Jackson House, a mental health crisis resource, notes that laughter — real laughter — activates various neurotransmitters that release the necessary chemicals to keep you grounded and feeling good. Denying actual humor can actually send you spiraling into a consistent depression and deny you coping mechanisms, and relegate you to "black and white" thinking:
Laughter can also be used as an effective coping mechanism. Some people find that using humor when in a tough situation can help alleviate some of the adverse effects of stress.
Indeed, for many, laughter can help shift their perspective, help them avoid cognitive distortions such as black-and-white thinking, and see things more pragmatically. This is because humor can provide some distance between yourself and the situation, which can help you defuse from it and see it in a more realistic light.
To that end, maintaining a sense of humor can be a very effective and helpful coping mechanism for psychological well-being, even when life is not going the way you wish.
The left's rejection of real humor has them spiraling, and as a result, people are actually dying.
