What did Jay Leno say about Bill Clinton? Viral post highlights former Tonight Show host’s participation in political comedy

Comedy icon Jay Leno, who formerly hosted The Tonight Show, has been thrown back into the political spotlight over a recent interview in which he criticized today’s late-night shows for being too partisan. However, a viral social media post has reopened discussion about Jay Leno’s own track record with political humor, specifically, his relentless comedy aimed at Bill Clinton.

A 2009 Center for Media and Public Affairs (CMPA) study found that Leno told 4,468 Bill Clinton jokes during his reign on the Tonight Show, which was more than any other public figure; his jokes included several jabs at George W. Bush (2999) as well.

Leno's monologues often included personal scandals involving Bill Clinton, particularly his affair with Monica Lewinsky, which Leno once referred to as “the golden age of comedy.”

According to a George Mason University analysis released in 2009, from 1992-2008, Jay Leno told 4,468 jokes about Bill Clinton, and 2,9999 George W. Bush during his Tenure as the host of the Tonight Show. https://t.co/2ZF9OtYJ7I

— AllCentralFlorida (@AllCentralFla) July 28, 2025

While Jay Leno maintains he didn't alienate viewers, his jokes did lapse into mean-spiritedness, especially about Lewinsky.

"Men behaving badly is the best, because nobody’s dying. It’s not a 9/11... There’s nothing funnier than that. Plus, all the hypocrisy that goes with that," Leno told The Hill when asked about Clinton's s*x scandal with Monica Lewinsky.

According to The Hill, Leno’s ’90s monologues often made fun of her, a phenomenon Lewinsky herself has described as forging the world’s first massive cyberbullying campaign.

An article by the Cracked states that Leno’s schtick wasn’t just political; it was partisan. His Clinton-era comedy was heavily based on conservative talking points, portraying the President as a scandal-prone figure while taking it relatively easy on the Republicans.

What did Jay Leno say recently?

Jay Leno stirred up the pot with his recent comments on the current show hosts' mixing of politics with humor.

“I love political humor, don’t get me wrong... But it’s just what happens when people wind up cozying too much to one side or the other," Leno said in a recent interview with David Trulio for The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation.

Jay Leno says late night TV hosts "alienate" their audiences with political jokes:

“To me, I like to think that people come to a comedy show to kind of get away from things, you know, the pressures of life, whatever it might be. Now you have to be content with half the audience… pic.twitter.com/RBiL3P1Ra6

— Variety (@Variety) July 27, 2025

He added that today’s late-night hosts (specifically Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel) turn off viewers because they take political sides. “Why shoot for just half an audience all the time?” he said, adding that comedy should unite, not divide.

"I’d like to think that people come to a comedy show to get away from the pressures of life… I mean, I like to bring people into the big picture. I don’t know why you would want to alienate one specific group," he added.

Jay Leno’s comments come as late-night TV is hit by drastic changes. CBS just pulled the plug on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which some people believe was driven by corporate-cowardice in the Trump administration era.