Late-night TV jokes usually target Trump

NEW YORK — From the perspective of late-night joke writers, there’s really only one person running for president.

A staggering 97 percent of the jokes Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon told about the candidates in September targeted President Donald Trump, a study released Monday found.

That’s 455 jokes about Trump and 14 about Democrat Joe Biden, according to the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University. That doesn’t even count 64 jokes made about Trump’s family or administration, the study said.

“When Trump’s onstage, everyone else is blacked out,” said Robert Lichter, communication professor at George Mason.

He’s been studying late-night humor and politics since 1992.

Republicans are usually targeted more than Democrats by the comedy writers, but the difference has never been this stark.

The closest was the 2016 campaign, when Trump was the punchline for 78 percent of the jokes to Hillary Clinton’s 22 percent, the center said.

Biden was taping an interview Monday with “60 Minutes,” which was scheduled to air on CBS next weekend. The Democratic nominee’s motorcade rolled shortly after noon on Monday from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, to the Queen, a downtown theater where his campaign has built a makeshift studio.

Biden’s traveling press pool caught a glimpse of him entering the theater, but he did not answer questions.

Biden has nothing else on his public schedule this week except Thursday night’s debate in Nashville, Tennessee.

Kamala Harris has returned to the campaign trail after a brief absence. She kicked off her return at a car rally in Orlando on Monday to mark the first day of early voting in Florida. She later campaigned in Jacksonville.