To the Editor:

Re “Please, No More Trump Jokes,” by Blayr Austin (Op-Ed, Nov. 12):

I am so tired of individuals attempting to be the arbiter of what is acceptable in the world of comedy. Ms. Austin seems to think that there should be an unofficial quota on how frequently the president should be the subject of today’s humor. Would she try to silence Will Rogers, whose career was celebrated for his wit and criticisms of our nation’s politicians? Or the brave efforts of the Smothers Brothers in the 1960s?

The time to stop mocking tyrants is never. To paraphrase the Beatles, the mockery President Trump gets is equal to the mockery he deserves.

Ken Ferber

Westlake Village, Calif.

To the Editor:

I agree that many of the jokes in comedy shows have been very shallow and lack any good punch lines. Routines usually end up being a bunch of insults hurled at different people, usually celebrities and politicians. Comedy should be a medium through which people can take their minds off daily stressors, and more than ever, politics has become one of those stressors.

The issue has become exceptionally bad in late-night shows, where it feels more like a news show and less like a talk show. As Blayr Austin said, we can appreciate that people such as Stephen Colbert, Samantha Bee and Trevor Noah discuss important political issues. However, I feel that it has come to a point where these late-night shows are almost an extension of the news.