Comedian Jim Gaffigan defended his comments criticizing President-elect Trump, noting that he doesn't regret them even if “true die-hard” MAGA fans can never forgive him.
Gaffigan, famously a “clean” comedian, posted online in 2020 calling Trump a “con man.” This past fall, he joined “Saturday Night Live” to play the Democratic Party's vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
He was asked about his remarks and criticisms of the president-elect while appearing on The Daily Beast’s “The Last Laugh” podcast.
“I regret that people think that I was criticizing people that support Trump,” Gaffigan said. “That was never the intention.”
He said he doesn’t regret publicly going against Trump but acknowledges that he may have lost some fans in doing so.
“I also do acknowledge that there are true die-hard Trump fans who probably enjoyed my comedy, but because they feel so passionately, will never forgive me,” he said.
Gaffigan said over the course of his career doing stand-up comedy, he’s noticed that fans will come and go. He argued the backlash he received for criticizing Trump was noticeable but didn’t affect him that much.
“I wouldn’t say it was measurable. But there were definitely comments on social media and there are still some,” he said.
Gaffigan reflected on his career and his lack of political comedy. He delivered remarks at the 2024 Al Smith Dinner in New York, where he roasted the political world, including Trump and the wealthy. “I’m not a roast comedian,” he said on the podcast. “I mean, I love politics, but I just don’t talk about it. So, I knew that if I did jokes about either side that there was going to be blowback, but I also thought it was worth it.”
