The annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) kicked off outside of Washington D.C. on February 25th with a wide range of political figures, including President Donald Trump. It was met with a lot of criticism from the liberal media and Democratic party, and late night talk show hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel both mocked it in their monologues last week.
In his monologue, Fallon took a swipe at the conservative conference, joking, "There will be a QAnon — I'm sorry, Q. and A.” Fallon also poked fun at the conference’s important figures, including former White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and newly elected Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel used his monologue to criticize the actions of the Republican party. He highlighted the fact that in Middletown, Connecticut, a small town of 25,000, the Democratic party is gaining traction. The polls showed that James “Jimmy” Sanchez (D) was leading over the petitioning candidate Toni Boucher (R) by a small margin. Mike Fallon, the chair of the Middletown Democratic Party, said, “This speaks to the fact that people are doing things differently than they did four years ago.”
The scope of the CPAC conference extended past U.S. borders and touched upon international issues as well. On his visit to the conference, Trump addressed the political implications of different political decisions, the fallout from Brexit, and the effects of economic policies in areas of the world such as Taiwan. Jimmy Fallon recapped Trump's visit to the conference in his monologue, saying, “He talked about the economy, immigration, and then he said, 'And now, I’m going to turn the floor over to a man who needs no introduction — Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit.”
Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel were not the only celebrities to comment on the CPAC conference. Stephen Colbert, another former cast member of Saturday Night Live, kept his Colbert Report political bent and used his monologue to make fun of Trump’s campaign for the 2024 presidential election. Kimmel also weighed in on Trump’s 2024 campaign, saying, “It's like the political equivalent of when Michael Jordan went to play for the Wizards.”
This was extremely criticized by the media and the general population who sympathized with the Democratic party. Jimmy Fallon has never been a fan of talking about politics. “It's just not what I do,” Fallon said in an interview last October, “I just don’t think it’s my place to be talking about politics.”
In response to the jokes made at the CPAC conference, some conservatives have been calling for more political civility and respect. They have argued that mocking the conservative viewpoint is not productive and can only create further divides in the political arena.
However, for Fallon and Kimmel, their political jabs came from a place of respect. As Fallon said in the same interview, “I think you have to respect everybody’s opinion and the fact that they feel so strongly about it and that’s why I try to stay away from it.”
Despite the criticism from the media and the public, many people still believe that the CPAC conference served as a great platform for dialogue about political issues. By having political figures from both sides of the aisle, CPAC provided an opportunity for people to express their views and have their voices heard.
