Jim Gaffigan regrets that Trump supporters thought he was attacking them

Superstar stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan recently spoke out about his previous anti-Trump social media posts from 2020, saying he regretted that supporters of President-elect Donald Trump took his criticism personally.

Gaffigan, who recently appeared on “Saturday Night Live” as former Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn. played, spoke about his negative feelings surrounding the old tweets in a new interview with The Daily Beast.

“I regret that people think I am criticizing people who support Trump. And that was never the intention. I’m sorry – someone said, “Now I can’t follow you anymore, and I kind of said ‘F you’ to them,” the comedian explained.

Gaffigan attacked Trump in a series of tweets back in 2020, when X was still on Twitter and Trump was running for re-election.

In one, he wrote: “Look, Trumper, I get it. I was a Cubs fan as a kid and I know you stay loyal to your team no matter what, but he’s a traitor and cheater who doesn’t care about you. Deep down you know it. I’m sure you enjoy pissing people off, but you know Trump is a liar and a criminal.”

In another, he criticized Trump for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, writing: “You know Trump only creates enemies. You know you can’t trust him. They know he has been incompetent during this crisis. You know that all these people didn’t have to die. Trump talks about the space program and it’s not safe to go to the movies. Wake up.”

Four years later, Gaffigan expressed regret to the magazine about how the posts were received by some people, but emphasized that he did not regret posting them.

“But it’s weird because I think authenticity is really an important thing, not just as a comedian but also with your kids,” he said, adding, “I don’t regret it, but I also recognize that.” are real die-hard Trump fans who probably enjoyed my comedy, but because they’re so passionate, they’ll never forgive me.”

Gaffigan went on to admit that alienating people in this way is simply part of a comedian’s job.

“But I also noticed that when you do stand-up for so long, you lose people. You will also attract people. But there will be people who say, ‘I don’t have kids, I think he’s funny, but I don’t understand it.'”

When asked if he felt he had lost a lot of fans because of these posts, he replied: “I wouldn’t say it’s measurable. But there were, and still are, comments on social media. My son, who is so funny – I posted something and my 18 year old son commented, “I liked him until he went on his Trump rant.”

The outlet also asked the comedian what he thought of the criticism his performance at the recent Al Smith Dinner in New York City earned him. During his appearance, Gaffigan took shots at Trump, who was in attendance that evening, and at Vice President Kamala Harris, who declined the invitation.

He noted that he was criticized by liberals who accused him of routinely disparaging Trump.

“I ‘normalized a fascist,’ right? I knew in advance that I would receive criticism from both sides. I’m not a crazy comedian. I mean, I love politics, but I just don’t talk about it,” he said.

“So I knew there would be a backlash if I joked about either side. But I also thought it was worth it.”