Late-Night in Washington

This book traces the trajectory of late-night political humor, which has long been a staple of entertainment television and is now a prominent part of social media political discourse, especially when it comes to the presidency. From Richard Nixon on Laugh-In to Donald Trump’s avatar on Saturday Night Live, this book takes the next step and considers how late-night comedy treats Joe Biden, the new American president who strives to restore a civil public tone but offers far less comedy fodder than his predecessor. Employing content analysis, public opinion surveys, and a variety of other quantitative and qualitative research, the authors look beyond the day-to-day memes and mimes of late-night comics and show how political humor may evolve. For students and scholars of politics and the media, this book will appeal to the general public and political pundits as well.

Praise for Late-Night in Washington: Political Humor and the American PresidencyFarnsworth, Lichter, and Latif provide a first-rate assessment of the influence that late-night television hosts and their political jokes have on the portrayal of American presidents, especially during the Donald Trump and Joe Biden administrations. Scholars of the American presidency and the media, along with anyone who cares about the state of American politics in contemporary times, will find this book a pleasure to read and that it will greatly enhance their knowledge about the role of the media on our chief executives. Adam Warber, Clemson UniversityFarnsworth, Lichter, and Latif have given us the definitive volume on political humor and the American presidency. Arguing that humor is an important societal coping mechanism, they document historical inflection points providing rich examples along the way. The book is a lively read that offers an alternative frame for examining political discourse. The detailed analyses of the Trump and Biden presidential eras provide compelling empirical verification of the pervasiveness and significance of political humor. Scholars will appreciate the volume’s academic rigor and students will be drawn in by the richness of the illustrative evidence.Diana Owen, Georgetown UniversityAs the 2024 presidential campaign gears up, longtime coauthors Farnsworth and Lichter (joined here by Latif) continue their groundbreaking work on presidential humor with Late-Night in Washington. Their latest book, a lively and compelling successor to 2020’s Late Night with Trump, updates their findings through the post-Trump presidency. Late-Night in Washington is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection between presidential politics and popular culture. Jeffrey Crouch, American University, Praise for Late-Night in Washington: Political Humor and the American PresidencyFarnsworth, Lichter, and Latif provide a first-rate assessment of the influence that late-night television hosts and their political jokes have on the portrayal of American presidents, especially during the Donald Trump and Joe Biden administrations. Scholars of the American presidency and the media, along with anyone who cares about the state of American politics in contemporary times, will find this book a pleasure to read and that it will greatly enhance their knowledge about the role of the media on our chief executives. Adam Warber, Clemson UniversityFarnsworth, Lichter, and Latif have given us the definitive volume on political humor and the American presidency. Arguing that humor is an important societal coping mechanism, they document historical inflection points providing rich examples along the way. The book is a lively read that offers an alternative frame for examining political discourse. The detailed analyses of the Trump and Biden presidential eras provide compelling empirical verification of the pervasiveness and significance of political humor. Scholars will appreciate the volume’s academic rigor and students will be drawn in by the richness of the illustrative evidence.Diana Owen, Georgetown UniversityAs the 2024 presidential campaign gears up, longtime coauthors Farnsworth and Lichter (joined here by Latif) continue their groundbreaking work on presidential humor with Late-Night in Washington. Their latest book, a lively and compelling successor to 2020’s Late Night with Trump, updates their findings through the post-Trump presidency. Late-Night in Washington is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection between presidential politics and popular culture. Jeffrey Crouch, American University

Stephen J. Farnsworth is Professor of Political Science at the University of Mary Washington, where he directs the university’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies.S. Robert Lichter is Professor of Communication at George Mason University, where he directs the Center for Media and Public Affairs.Farah Latif is a Fellow at the Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) and an instructor at George Mason University whose research has included political gaslighting and developing a personal reputation scale.