Former Tonight Show host Jay Leno is making his return to television with a car show, but that didn’t stop him from discussing other topics at the Television Critics Association press tour today. The comedian gave his thoughts on Stephen Colbert hosting CBS’ The Late Show and Donald Trump.
Leno sounded genuinely disappointed that CBS picked another white guy to replace David Letterman. As the Los Angeles Times notes, Leno said that the late night TV landscape needs either another woman or African American to host a show to shake things up.
“I would like to see a bit more diversity in late night.... I mean, I'm certainly ready for a female host, another African American host,” Leno explained to reporters. “I mean, Arsenio [Hall] blew the place wide open 20 years ago. I don't know why we haven't had someone else come in.”
Still, Leno said he is a fan of Colbert and thinks that the former Colbert Report host will really connect with audiences.
“He's smart. People think he's this raging liberal. The guy teaches Sunday school. I think he's a pretty conservative guy. So I think he'll do well with mainstream America,” Leno said.
Leno also performed somewhat of a monologue as he started talking about Trump, who is running for President.
“It’s interesting watching this whole thing unfold,” Leno said, notes The Wrap. “[Trump] and Jeb Bush are the frontrunners. It’s kind of like watching the race between the tortoise and the bad hair.”
NBCUniversal announced last year that Leno will host Jay Leno’s Garage on CNBC, in which he talks about his other favorite thing - cars.
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