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Conan O’Brien delivered a blunt message at the Oxford Union this week, warning that many comedians have traded their craft for a chorus of one-note political rage — the endless chant of “F Trump.” He argued that when comics default to anger instead of wit they “put down your best weapon,” a line that landed because it exposed the moral laziness of a media class that prefers tribal virtue-signaling to actual punchlines. The observation is simple and true: comedy works when it’s clever, not when it’s a megaphone for grievance.
What made Conan’s point especially sharp was his insistence that anger has co-opted talent, turning smart satirists into predictable hecklers who’ve been “lulled” into screaming rather than crafting jokes. He warned that surrendering humor to fury is self-defeating — good art is a weapon against power only if it still makes people laugh. That diagnosis matters because it puts the onus back on creators to be courageous enough to mock everyone, not just perform pressure-tested partisan hatred.
O’Brien also explained the technical problem: you can’t parody something that already lives beyond parody, comparing modern political theater to the National Enquirer’s absurd headlines. When reality out-satirizes satire, the comic must reinvent the angle instead of settling for cheap outrage. His point stings because much of Hollywood has stopped trying to reinvent anything; it recycles the same slogans and expects applause for having performed the role assigned to it by the coastal elite.
It was heartening to hear mainstream conservative voices notice what Conan said, and to see Megyn Kelly and Link Lauren publicly applaud his call for comedians to reclaim humor over habitual condemnation. Kelly’s platform and MK Media’s roster — including Link Lauren’s Spot On show — highlighted Conan’s remarks as a rare moment of blunt cultural honesty from someone who spent decades inside the late-night ecosystem. That cross-aisle recognition should remind people that cultural repair doesn’t come from echo chambers but from an ability to call out failure wherever it appears.
Conservative commentators have been quick to embrace Conan’s critique because it exposes the hypocrisy of a media class that weaponizes comedy when convenient, then feigns outrage when the targets push back. Outlets across the right-leaning spectrum noted that O’Brien’s message is a welcome rebuke to lazy, performative left-wing comedy that substitutes slogans for substance. This isn’t about shielding any politician from satire; it’s about demanding that satire be sharp rather than servile to a political moment.
If anything, Conan’s warning should be a prod to artists of every stripe: talent squandered on political cant is still squandered. Conservatives rightly see in his remarks a call to restore merit and craft — to reward comedians who have the backbone to skewer hypocrisy on both sides and the skill to turn observations into laughter, not just talking points. The real victory for free expression is when comedy pierces power through wit, not when it becomes another grudge match staged on late-night TV.
America’s cultural life needs more truth-tellers like this — performers and hosts who refuse to trade independence for industry applause. Conservatives can applaud Conan’s courage without turning him into a partisan mascot; the larger point is that our institutions of culture must demand excellence again. If comedians want to matter, they should pick up their funniest tools and use them — because from the pulpit of humor, a well-aimed joke still does more to strip authority of its absurdity than a thousand predictable insults.
