‘A real fear': Nikki Glaser says she's scared to make political jokes in the Trump era
Comedian Nikki Glaser is warning about the chilling effect Donald Trump's second term has had on the country's comedy landscape. Glaser said there's 'a real fear' among some comedians that they could be 'detained' over political jokes, especially those involving the president.
'Like, you just are scared that you're gonna get doxxed and death threats, or who knows where this leads, like, detained,' Glaser told Deadline on Sunday.
'Honestly, that's not even like a joke,' she continued. 'It's like a real fear. So it's unfortunate that that's true, but I'm not gonna lie and say I don't think about that sometimes and go, 'Oh, God. Can I just say, I hope they all know, I can be up on the gallows and say I was just joking. I'm a comedian.' I hope that that's a defense.'
The comedian, known for brutally honest celebrity roasts, also told The Hill she no longer 'felt safe' including political jokes in her routines. 'I missed that moment where I could say stuff, because I had a point of view and I felt safe speaking to that,' Glaser said. 'I went from being like, 'I don't want to talk about politics because I don't want to alienate anyone,' to like, 'I want to talk about it but now I'm scared to.' And that's just that's a s‑‑‑-y place to be.'
Glaser made the comments at Sunday's ceremony for the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The event, celebrating honoree Conan O'Brien, was held in the shadow of a slow-rolling controversy at the performing arts center. Back in February, Trump fired multiple members of the board of trustees and appointed himself chairman. Trump vowed to rid the center of 'woke' influences, drag shows and 'anti-American propaganda.'
Not all of Glaser's fellow comedians shied away from mocking the president at Sunday's ceremony. John Mulaney joked that the Kennedy Center would soon be renamed 'The Roy Cohn Pavilion for Big, Strong Men Who Love 'Cats,'' a reference to Trump's late mentor, political fixer Roy Cohn and the president's affinity for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Will Ferrell said the event was a distraction since he was 'supposed to be shutting down the Department of Education' instead of attending.
During his acceptance speech, O'Brien appeared to make a thinly veiled reference to Trump in his praise for the prize's namesake, telling the crowd, 'Twain hated bullies ... He punched up, not down. And he deeply, deeply empathized with the weak ... Twain was allergic to hypocrisy and he loathed racism. Twain was suspicious of populism, jingoism, imperialism, the money-obsessed mania of the Gilded Age and any expression of mindless American might or self-importance.'
'Above all, Twain was a patriot in the best sense of the world,' O'Brien added. 'He loved America but knew it was deeply flawed. Twain wrote, 'Patriotism is supporting your country all of the time and your government when it deserves it.''
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
15 minutes ago
- New York Post
Trump admin diverted 20,000 anti-drone missiles it promised to Ukraine and sent them to US troops, Zelensky says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Trump administration diverted 20,000 anti-drone missiles originally meant for Kyiv to American forces in the Middle East. Zelensky revealed Sunday that he had secured a deal for the missiles under the Biden administration to counterattack Moscow's deadly, Iranian-designed Shahed drones, which have been at the center of Russia's mass bombardment campaign. 'We have big problems with Shaheds,' Zelensky told ABC News' 'This Week.' 'We counted on this project — 20,000 missiles. Anti-Shahed missiles. It was not expensive, but it's a special technology.' Advertisement 5 Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Trump administration diverted anti-drone missiles originally meant for Kyiv to American forces in the Middle East. ABC News 5 A firefighter extinguishes a fire at a civilian plant following powerful attacks to Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. AFP via Getty Images The diversion of the weapons was first reported by the Wall Street Journal last week, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly issuing an 'urgent' call to redirect the weapons on June 4 away from Ukraine. The missiles were instead sent off to American forces in the Middle East as the US braces for possible conflict with Iran over the stalled nuclear deal, as well as the Houthi rebel group in Yemen, according to the WSJ. Advertisement The order also coincided with Hegseth's absence from the most recent Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, which was the first time a DOD chief missed the conference since Russia began its invasion in 2022. Under Hegseth and Trump, the US has not approved any new military aid packages to Ukraine, with the administration previously putting a temporary halt on weapons shipments earlier this year. With Moscow ramping up its drone and missile strikes against Ukraine, Zelensky has called on the US to reaffirm its support for Kyiv and for President Trump to not give up on America's role mediating the strained cease-fire efforts. Advertisement 5 Under President Trump and Pete Hegseth, the US has not approved any new military aid packages to Ukraine. via REUTERS 5 Smoke billows after drone strikes in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion. SERGEY KOZLOV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 'I am convinced that the president of the United States has all the powers and enough leverage to step up,' Zelensky said, adding that Ukraine already backs the 30-day cease-fire deal proposed by the US. He also rejected Trump's latest characterization of the war as 'two young children fighting like crazy' in a playground. Advertisement 'We are not kids with Putin at the playground in the park. This is why I am saying he is a murderer who came to this park to kill the kids,' he said. 5 'We are not kids with Putin at the playground in the park. This is why I am saying he is a murderer who came to this park to kill the kids,' Zelensky said. AFP via Getty Images Along with renewed military aid, Ukraine is pushing the US to join the rest of the world in imposing new economic sanctions against Moscow. Zelensky maintains that sanctions from the US will hurt Moscow the hardest as he backed a proposal from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to slap 500% tariffs on any nation that buys Russian energy products.
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump economic adviser ‘very comfortable' with a trade deal closing with China on Monday
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Sunday that he is 'very comfortable' with a trade deal closing between the United States and China after the two sides meet Monday in London. Hassett's comments on CBS' 'Face the Nation' come after President Donald Trump said last week that he had a 'very good' conversation with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and that talks with China are 'very far advanced.' Hassett said the United States is looking to restore the flow of 'crucial' rare earth minerals, which are used in the manufacturing of electronics, to the same levels before early April, when the US-China trade war escalated. 'Those exports of critical minerals have been getting released at a rate that is higher than it was, but not as high as we believe we agreed to in Geneva,' Hassett said. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will lead the negotiations in London, along with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who in May led a weekend of the trade talks in Geneva. But tensions between the nations escalated weeks later after Trump posted on Truth Social that China 'totally violated' its 90-day trade agreement, which had dialed back the tit-for-tat trade war. Under the agreement, the US temporarily lowered its overall tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China cut its levies on American imports from 125% to 10%. Under the agreement, China said it would suspend or cancel its non-tariff countermeasures imposed on the United States since April 2. Part of Beijing's retaliatory measures included export restrictions on some rare earth minerals, which are essential parts used in products such as iPhones, electric vehicles and fighter jets. The Trump administration on April 2 imposed sweeping 'reciprocal' tariffs on dozens of trading partners before pausing them for 90 days and lowering them to a 10% baseline. Hassett on Sunday declined to say what baseline tariffs could be in place moving forward as the Trump administration continues negotiations with trading partners ahead of the July 9 deadline. 'You could be certain that there's going to be some tariffs,' Hassett said. Lutnick told CNN's 'State of the Union' in May that 'we will not go below 10%' and to expect that baseline rate for the foreseeable future. The Trump administration has so far announced only one trade deal, with the United Kingdom. The Trump administration has touted that other countries, particularly China, will bear the burden of tariffs. Businesses and economists have warned otherwise, spurring uncertainty about consumer spending and fears of a potential recession. Amid those concerns, US inflation slowed to its lowest rate in more than four years in April. The annual inflation rate fell from a 2.4% increase in March to 2.3% as consumer prices rose 0.2%, according to Consumer Price Index data. 'All of our policies together are reducing inflation and helping reduce the deficit by getting revenue from other countries,' Hassett said. The Treasury Department reported that a record $16.3 billion was collected in gross customs duties in April, a sharp jump from the $8.75 billion that was collected in March. Since the start of the 2025 fiscal year, which began in October 2024, the United States has collected about $63.3 billion in gross customs duties — a more than $15 billion increase from the same period during the last fiscal year. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that increased tariff revenue, without accounting for effects on the US economy, could reduce total deficits by $3 trillion over the next decade. The US government deficit stood at about $2 trillion in 2024, or roughly 7% of gross domestic product, according to a June 2024 report by the CBO. Meanwhile, House Republicans' sweeping bill to enact Trump's policy agenda would pile another $3.8 trillion to the government's $36 trillion debt pile, according to recent CBO estimates. CNN's Matt Egan and Alicia Wallace contributed to this report. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US, China to Resume Trade Talks With Focus on Rare Earth Exports
(Bloomberg) -- Supply Lines is a daily newsletter that tracks global trade. Sign up here. Next Stop: Rancho Cucamonga! Where Public Transit Systems Are Bouncing Back Around the World ICE Moves to DNA-Test Families Targeted for Deportation with New Contract Trump Said He Fired the National Portrait Gallery Director. She's Still There. US Housing Agency Vulnerable to Fraud After DOGE Cuts, Documents Warn Top trade negotiators from the US and China are set to hold fresh talks in London on Monday, offering a glimmer of hope that the world's two largest economies can defuse tensions over Chinese dominance in rare-earth minerals. Both sides have accused the other of reneging on a deal in Geneva in May where they tried to start dialing back their trade war. Relations have spiraled since President Donald Trump's return to the White House, stoking uncertainty for companies and investors. China said Saturday it approved some applications for rare-earth exports, without specifying which countries or industries were involved — after Trump said Friday that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to restart the flow of minerals and magnets using the materials. 'We want the rare earths, the magnets that are crucial for cell phones and everything else to flow just as they did before the beginning of April and we don't want any technical details slowing that down,' Kevin Hassett, head of the National Economic Council at the White House, said Sunday on CBS's Face the Nation. 'And that's clear to them.' US-China trade tensions escalated this year as a series of duty hikes on each other's goods sent tariffs well above 100% before hitting a pause. While the Geneva deal was meant to pave the way for a broader de-escalation, subsequent talks quickly stalled amid mutual recriminations. The US complained about a decline in shipments of rare-earth magnets essential for American electric vehicles and defense systems, while China bristled at tightened US restrictions on artificial intelligence chips from Huawei Technologies Co., access to other advanced technologies and crackdowns on foreign students in the US. Trump's reprieve on US tariffs for Chinese goods runs out in August, unless he decides to extend it. If deals aren't reached, the White House has said Trump plans to restore tariff rates to the levels he first announced in April, or lower numbers that exceed the current 10% baseline. In London, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will meet a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier He Lifeng. Trump offered a positive spin on what has been a rollercoaster relationship since he took office in January, saying on social media that the talks should go 'very well.' While a call between Trump and Xi last week generated some hope on Wall Street for lower duties between the trading partners, investors' optimism was limited. While promising to reshape US trading relationships, the US president has reached only one new trade agreement — with the UK. The Geneva meeting underscored the challenge of deal-making between China and the US. 'There was confusion and misunderstanding or misinterpretation intentionally on both sides, depending on how you look at it, about what was agreed to,' said Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council. 'They left too many things open to interpretation and they all paid the price for it in the intervening weeks.' After the two leaders spoke, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Trump told Xi that Chinese students are welcome to study in the US. Trump later said it would be his 'honor' to welcome them. For now, Xi appears to be betting that a reset in ties will lead to tangible wins in the weeks and months ahead, including tariff reductions, an easing of export controls and a less-fraught tone. The US and China 'just want to get back to where they were in Switzerland with a few more agreements down on paper to actually understand what is gonna be licensed, what gets permitted, what doesn't,' Lipsky said. The SEC Pinned Its Hack on a Few Hapless Day Traders. The Full Story Is Far More Troubling Cavs Owner Dan Gilbert Wants to Donate His Billions—and Walk Again Is Elon Musk's Political Capital Spent? What Does Musk-Trump Split Mean for a 'Big, Beautiful Bill'? Cuts to US Aid Imperil the World's Largest HIV Treatment Program ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
