Johnny Carson on Politics and The Tonight Show

President Joe Biden tapes an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, Wednesday, June 8, 2022, at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. (Official White House Photo by Erin Scott)

In the wake of Jimmy Kimmel Live getting pulled off the air by ABC over inaccurate comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s murderer, Lew Rockwell posted on his site a quote and a clip from Johnny Carson on involving politics in his show.

“Why do they think that just because you have a Tonight Show that you must deal in serious issues? It’s a danger. It’s a real danger. Once you start that, you start to get that self-important feeling that what you say has great import. And you know? Strangely enough, you could use that show as a forum. You could sway people. And I don’t think you should as an entertainer.”