Jimmy Fallon Insists He 'Hits Both Political Sides Equally.' The Numbers Say Otherwise.

"Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon says he doesn’t plan to change his late-night program amid political scrutiny, insisting it was never political in the first place.

"Our show has never really been that political," Fallon said Tuesday on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street. "We hit both sides equally and try to make everybody laugh, and that’s really the way our show works. Our monologues are kind of the same that we’ve been doing since Johnny Carson was hosting The Tonight Show."

Both sides equally? Not quite.

Jimmy Fallon. Getty Images

Fallon is less partisan than Stephen Colbert or Jimmy Kimmel, but his claim of balance, in the tradition of Carson, doesn’t hold up.

A new NewsBusters study found that more than 70 percent of Fallon’s political jokes since 2023 targeted conservatives and/or Republicans. Another study in July reported that 99 percent of his 2025 guests leaned liberal, though that figure may be slightly lower now after Fox News host Greg Gutfeld appeared in August.

Reviewing Fallon’s recent monologues, we could not locate a single opening that poked fun at liberals or the Democrat Party. Fallon also avoided mocking Joe Biden until he exited the race, at which point it became acceptable for progressives to do so.

Still, we hope Fallon begins to practice what he preaches about "hitting both sides equally."

Late-night television on NBC, CBS, and ABC was never designed to be partisan. In fact, Jon Stewart and Bill Maher found market openings because the broadcast networks’ late-night programming mostly avoided politics.

That changed when Trump descended the escalator in 2015. The industry has suffered since. Combined viewership for Colbert, Kimmel, and Fallon has dropped more than 50 percent since 2015. From 2017 to now, their ad revenue has fallen from $439 million to $220 million.

CBS is losing about $40 million annually on Colbert’s program. It’s also unlikely that either of the two Jimmys generates much, if any, profit for their networks.

Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon via Getty.

Looking ahead, it’s too late for Colbert or Kimmel. CBS has already announced that Colbert’s show will end in May 2026. Kimmel, meanwhile, has no path back — particularly after lying about the political affiliation of Charlie Kirk’s suspected assassin, a claim he still has not corrected.

Fallon may still have an opportunity to save his program. Because he never adopted the scolding posture of Colbert or Kimmel, moderate and conservative viewers could give him another chance.

Fallon is also the most naturally talented of the three hosts—by far.

America could use a late-night figure who isn’t overtly partisan or preoccupied with Hollywood approval. The question is whether Fallon is willing to be that figure, or if it will take someone new.