Patton Oswalt: Trump, Kimmel, and the State of Stand-Up Comedy

Patton Oswalt begins his latest stand-up special (‘Black Coffee and Ice Water,’ streaming on Audible Nov. 20) by reading a fake disclaimer about how he’s gone full MAGA in an attempt to avoid the authoritarian hand of Donald Trump. It’s a funny bit that also underscores the comedian’s very real fears about being an outspokenly anti-fascist voice in 2025 America. In his third appearance on the podcast, Oswalt talks about the freedom of putting together an audio-only special, which includes jokes about his teenage daughter and celebrating 30 years on Prozac. He also shares his visceral reaction to Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, Donald Trump’s “mediocrity,” the MAGA-friendly comedians who happily took Saudi Arabia’s money, and what keeps him performing stand-up nearly 40 years into his career.  Patton Oswalt’s ‘Black Coffee and Ice Water’ on Audible Follow Patton Oswalt on Instagram @pattonoswalt  Follow Matt Wilstein on Bluesky @mattwilstein  Follow The Last Laugh on Instagram @lastlaughpod Watch full episodes of The Last Laugh podcast on the Daily Beast’s YouTube channel Highlights from this episode and others at TheDailyBeast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices