Jimmy Fallon said Tuesday that his late-night program is not about politics and will try to stay focused on humor for all.
The host of NBC’s “The Tonight Show” appeared on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” where he was asked about Jimmy Kimmel’s brief suspension from ABC.
Kimmel was suspended earlier this month for six days.
The network acted after Kimmel misled his audience during a politically charged monologue about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
The late-night host told his audience that claims the accused assassin was a pro-transgender activist were an attempt by “the MAGA gang” to deflect blame for the murder.
“The MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said.
Why Jimmy’s show got pulled👇
Kimmel suggested, contrary to the evidence, that Charlie Kirk’s assassin was part of the “MAGA Gang”:
“The MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything but one of them.” pic.twitter.com/jQu5cJLbST
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) September 17, 2025
Those remarks came five days after Kirk’s death.
ABC suspended Kimmel two days later.
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He returned to his program the following week.
On CNBC, Fallon was asked about how he handles political material on his show.
CNBC host Carl Quintanilla told Fallon, “Jimmy, it’s been a really eventful couple of weeks in late night. I thought you were so eloquent in the wake of Kimmel’s suspension.”
He added, “I am wondering how you’re thinking about what you can put in a monologue, what it’s like being on an FCC-licensed avenue of broadcasting right now.”
Jimmy Fallon told CNBC, “our show’s never really been that political. You know, we hit both sides equally and we try to make everybody laugh. And that’s really the way our show really works.” They do not, in fact, hit both sides equally pic.twitter.com/FinCS13hte
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) September 30, 2025
Fallon responded by distancing himself from politics.
“You know, our show’s never really been that political. You know, we hit both sides equally, and we try to make everybody laugh,” Fallon claimed.
“And that’s really the way our show really works. I mean, our monologues are kind of, you know, the same that we’ve been doing since Johnny Carson was doing ‘The Tonight Show,’” he continued.
“So really, I just keep my head down and make sure the jokes are funny. I have great writers, clever, smart writers. We’re just trying to make the best show we possibly can and entertain everybody,” Fallon concluded.
In Kimmel’s absence, some on the left portrayed him as a free speech martyr.
His return initially saw a ratings bump.
But those numbers have since declined over the past week by more than 60 percent, Fox News reported.
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