Podcast Summary: The Daily – ‘The Interview’: Fox News Wanted Greg Gutfeld to Do This Interview. He Wasn’t So Sure.

Host: David Marchese (The New York Times)
Guest: Greg Gutfeld
Date: November 8, 2025

Episode Overview

In this thought-provoking episode, David Marchese dives deep with Greg Gutfeld, Fox News' breakout late-night host and self-styled “King of Late Night.” Their conversation traverses the cancellation of liberal late-night stalwarts Colbert and Kimmel, the evolution of political comedy, Gutfeld's philosophy on humor and risk, and how personal history shapes his public persona. The interview is marked by pointed exchanges over partisanship, authenticity, and the very real tension of crossing ideological lines for a national conversation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. State of Late Night TV & Gutfeld’s Rise

• [02:42–04:17] Gutfeld reflects on the cancellation of Colbert and Kimmel’s shows.
  • Quote: “Why did it take so long because, you know, I'd crushed them like bugs, David. I'd crushed them and I'd thrown them into the wind and they were still here. I call it entertainment welfare.” – Greg Gutfeld [02:58]
• He attributes the cancellations primarily to poor ratings, not politics:
  • “If the numbers were there, it wouldn't make any difference.” [03:50]

2. Gutfeld’s Approach to Comedy & Comparisons with Liberal Hosts

• [04:23–07:36] Gutfeld distinguishes his show’s style from what he calls the “therapy session” tone of Colbert and Kimmel, stressing the playful, self-targeting nature of his humor.
  • Quote: “The teasing makes it fun. And also I genuinely like people that I tease. In fact, if you want to know the people I don't like, it's the people I don't tease.” – Greg Gutfeld [04:34]
• He claims left-leaning shows lack this playful self-ridicule.
• Acknowledges that “Trump Derangement Syndrome” has become an addiction that emotionally colors all interactions and news [06:22].

3. Mutual Exclusion & Accusations of Demonization

• [07:36–09:06] The host challenges Gutfeld for labeling liberals harshly in his writings.
  • Quote: “You literally use the phrase, the left are dumb, fascist mother Effers.” – David Marchese [07:50]
  • Gutfeld says it’s hyperbole or mockery, not serious personal demonization.

4. Gutfeld’s Formula for Success

• [09:21–11:20] Explains late night’s shift to political content and how his style captured an underserved conservative audience.
  • “They don’t want Kimmel or Colbert in their living room telling them they're stupid for voting for Trump.” [10:19]
• Emphasizes “sharing the risk” in comedy—taking chances, breaking taboos.

5. On Having and Using Foils in Comedy

• [11:20–12:49] Gutfeld admits that having ideological or personal foils, like other hosts or even his own colleagues, helps sharpen his identity as a host.
  • “I do need foils... Maybe it helps sharpen my identity, and it reminds me of what I am, which is not them.” [11:32–12:26]

6. Hierarchy of Smears: Ridicule vs. Demonization

• [12:49–15:54] Gutfeld explains his philosophy: Calling someone “fat” for calling you “Hitler” is less injurious than the reverse.
  • Quote: “It goes back to the framing, which is, I think you're wrong. You think I'm evil, and I'm never going to call somebody fat because they're fat. I'm going to call you fat if you called me Hitler.” [13:31]

7. Risk, Audience Sensibilities, and Internal Dissent

• [16:00–17:51] Discusses risk-taking with his own viewers (e.g., on religion or trans issues) and the tension between alignment and alienation.
  • Quote: “My audience didn’t exist until I got there. And so they're aligning kind of with me in a way...” [16:54]

8. Ideological Purity & Changing Views

• [18:38–20:55] Gutfeld reflects on how some of his earlier libertarian views (e.g., on drug decriminalization, tariffs) have shifted over time.
  • “I haven’t reread that book because I’m afraid there’ll be things in there that I have changed my mind on.” [18:49]

9. Libertarian Leanings Versus Trump’s Populism

• [21:09–22:46] Gutfeld’s libertarian skepticism sometimes diverges from Trumpist orthodoxy (e.g., the flag-burning issue).

10. On Health Trends & Anti-Vaxx Scepticism

• [22:54–25:50] Drawing from his time editing health magazines, Gutfeld discusses fads and skepticism, expressing doubts about vaccine-autism claims and the dangers of “groupthink.”
  • “There was some weird working in health magazines that you come into the reverse circumcision movement. Guys who wanted their foreskin back. That was a thing.” [23:18]

11. Opposition Toxin & ‘The Prison of Two Ideas’

• [25:54–26:56] Gutfeld critiques media and social tendency toward binary oppositions.
  • Quote: “It's the thing that you have to, like, always be a party pooper with nuance... I call it the prison of two ideas.” [26:21–26:47]

12. Formative Trauma & the Outsider Identity

• [27:03–33:35] The interview explores Gutfeld’s adolescence: family illness and youthful experiences with exclusion and race.
  • The “Sharks” story: schoolyard exclusion as a lesson in mob/tribal behavior [30:48–31:54]
  • Friendship with James, a black childhood friend who rejected him after awareness of racial difference [31:49–32:19]
  • Quote: “I think that he realized we were two different races and that he had no need for me.” [32:19]

13. Resentment, Ambition, and Drive

• [32:43–34:14] Marchese suggests Gutfeld’s work is propelled by a desire to “preemptively reject before you’re rejected”—Gutfeld grants there’s a kernel of truth.
  • “I do think that like, almost all resentments have your role in it, right.” [33:04]

14. On Being Cool, Subculture, and Political Reversal

• [35:23–48:51] In the follow-up call, Gutfeld and Marchese discuss how the right became “cool” by upsetting establishment authority, referencing the “Dean Wormer Effect” from Animal House.
  • Quote: “What is considered, I don't know, fun is whatever upsets your teacher. This is where I think the real Trump fandom came into play among young people — how much it pissed off their teachers.” [35:23 & 45:38]

15. Risks of Ascendancy and the Temptation to Scold

• Gutfeld cautions against replicating the scolding, exclusionary tendencies he once decried on the left:
  • “There is a danger of... when you ascend, you replicate the very practices you hate.” [48:07]

16. Idealism and Philosophy on Life

• [49:19–50:13] Gutfeld shares his guiding personal philosophy:
  • Quote: “Now it's like, I expect everything to be difficult, and then when it goes well, I'm incredibly grateful. And that one little switch, it's literally a flip, has changed my life.” [49:34]

Memorable Quotes

• On Late Night Competitors:
  “They don't want Kimmel or Colbert in their living room telling them they're stupid for voting for Trump.” – Greg Gutfeld [10:19]

• On Humor and Targets:
  “If you want to know the people I don't like, it's the people I don't tease.” – Greg Gutfeld [04:34]

• On Hierarchies of Insult:
  “If you called me Hitler. I'm going to call you fat... The physical stuff doesn't come close to ascribing this moral evil to somebody...” – Greg Gutfeld [13:31]

• On Audience Risk:
  “I have offended my audience. If I am too flippant on religion. But I think that my audience is pretty generous because…they're aligning kind of with me in a way.” [16:54]

• On Being Cool:
  “What is considered, I don't know, fun is whatever upsets your teacher.” – Greg Gutfeld [45:38]

• On Idealism:
  “Now it's like, I expect everything to be difficult, and then when it goes well, I'm incredibly grateful. And that one little switch...has changed my life.” – Greg Gutfeld [49:34]

Notable Moments with Timestamps

• [02:58] – Gutfeld’s reaction to late-night shakeup.
• [07:50] – Marchese quoting Gutfeld's own harsh language back to him.
• [13:31] – “Hierarchy of smears” and difference between ridicule and demonization.
• [16:54] – On pushing against his own audience's sensibilities.
• [26:21–26:47] – The “prison of two ideas” media diagnosis.
• [31:49–32:19] – Childhood story of friendship across racial lines and painful loss.
• [33:04] – The role of resentment in self-motivation.
• [42:20] – Gutfeld reveals Fox wanted him to do the interview, despite personal reluctance.
• [45:38] – The right’s “coolness” phenomenon among youth and subcultures.
• [48:07] – The warning about the right replicating scolding leftist attitudes.
• [49:34] – Gutfeld’s “filter flip” guiding his outlook on life.

Tone & Dynamic

The episode balances combative moments with humor and candor. Marchese pushes Gutfeld on the contradictions in his persona and rhetoric, while Gutfeld counters with playful self-deprecation, sharp retorts, and genuine reflection. The tone remains brisk, irreverent, and lively, mirroring Gutfeld’s own approach to television.

Conclusion

This episode offers a rare, in-depth look at Greg Gutfeld’s philosophy, contradictions, and vulnerabilities. Listeners will come away with a nuanced understanding of Gutfeld's impact on late-night TV, his views on media partisanship and humor, and the deep-seated formative experiences fueling his on-air persona. With memorable barbs, moments of introspection, and direct challenges to both host and guest, it’s a robust snapshot of the shifting dynamics in comedy, culture, and political talk.

For Further Listening

• Skip to [02:38] for introduction of core late-night shakeups.
• Don’t miss the “hierarchy of smears” discussion at [13:31].
• For personal and formative stories, check [30:48–33:04].
• Second interview and the “right is cool” discussion at [35:23] and [45:38].
• Gutfeld’s life philosophy at [49:34].