Trump Suggests Bringing Johnny Carson Back From the Dead to Host ‘The Tonight Show’

Once again proving that he’s willing to address the matters that are most pressing for everyday Americans today, Donald Trump spent a not insubstantial amount of time this week complaining about his least favorite late-night hosts. 

At a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Trump began by sounding off on Jimmy Kimmel, specifically complaining about that one joke he made at the Oscars six months ago. This guy’s faced two assassination attempts since then, but he still seems way more upset that the former host of The Man Show made fun of him during an award show.

If that wasn’t weird enough, Trump also complained about several other network late-night hosts, including Jimmy Fallon — so don’t expect to see Trump lining up for Tonightmares anytime soon.

Trump recalled the time that he went on Fallon’s Tonight Show while beginning his presidential campaign (how could we forget tussle-gate), then complained that it’s “dying. They’re all dying.” Okay, he might have a point there. But then, somewhat bafflingly, Trump asked, “Where is Johnny Carson? Bring back Johnny.”

Um, does Trump seriously not know that Johnny Carson is very, very dead? 

I mean, he said a lot of other unhinged things at that rally, including claiming to be a “protector of women” despite *gestures to everything Donald Trump has said or done in his life*. But Carson died nearly 20 years ago at this point. And he hasn’t hosted The Tonight Show in over 30 years. It’s not like Carson handed the reins of the NBC franchise down to an 18-year-old Jimmy Fallon. There was a whole other host in between them. Two if you count Conan. Three if you count Jay Leno twice.

This isn’t the first time that Trump has brought up Carson while criticizing the other three “week and untalented late night ‘hosts’” either. He once quoted Fox News’ Michael Loftus who claimed that Carson did “a great job” because he “wasn’t political.” 

Which just fundamentally isn’t true. Even in addition to the typical monologue jokes, Carson didn’t shy away from political conversations, including when he hosted columnist Jack Anderson for an in-depth discussion about the Watergate scandal in 1974.

He even made multiple jokes about Trump, suggesting that an announced Trump game show would feature an “eviction of the week.” 

And he once quipped that Gennifer Flowers, who famously had an affair with then-Governor Bill Clinton, secured a new job as Trump’s “backup mistress.”

Incidentally, Carson also dunked on Joe Biden, during his plagiarism scandal in 1987.

But all of these seemingly topical references aren’t evidence that Johnny Carson is alive — they’re evidence that Trump and Biden are super-old.

You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter (if it still exists by the time you’re reading this).