Comedian Paula Poundstone Calls Out Donald Trump While Touring With Her New Stand-Up Show
Comedian Paula Poundstone is staying busier than ever — and not just with laughter. Known for her sharp wit and unfiltered humor, Poundstone is currently on her new stand-up tour, which brings her to Kansas City’s Folly Theater this Saturday, where seats are already limited.
Alongside touring, she remains a regular panelist on NPR’s “Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!” and hosts her weekly podcast “Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone.” But lately, she’s found another outlet for expression — posting daily video messages to Donald Trump across her social media accounts.
These videos all start the same way: “Hey Donald Trump, it’s me, Paula Poundstone.” And from there, she doesn’t hold back.
With her signature mix of humor and political commentary, she’s taken aim at everything from Trump’s rumored ballroom at the White House to his alleged courtroom naps and even a viral moment where he appeared to doze off next to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
In another post, she mocked Trump for being upset over a historians’ presidential ranking that placed Abraham Lincoln at the top while putting Trump near the bottom. Once, she suggested that he “try something new” by taking a job with ICE. In a different video, she joked that Trump is as obsessed with money as her overweight cat Larry is with food — and yes, Larry has fans of his own.
Recently, Poundstone’s humor even included a jab about Pam Bondi’s bosom in a clip titled “Trump’s Tears”, where she also applauded New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani for his victory speech.
She’s known to weave in pop culture and random topics too — like Stephen Miller and hairless cats — always with that unmistakable mix of absurdity and bite.
Poundstone has long believed in the power of laughter. “Laughter is really good for stress,” she told the audience during her appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” back in May. “We have been under so much stress, right? I would argue since the gold escalator, but certainly the last period of time.”
She also joined the No Kings protests last month, which drew around 7 million participants across 2,700 towns and cities, including Burlington, Vermont. Republican Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the rallies as “hate America gatherings,” but Poundstone countered, “I do not hate America. I love America. The more you see what’s coming our way, the more you go, boy, it’s so taken for granted what we’ve had.”
In her shows, Poundstone mixes social awareness with humor. One reviewer in Santa Barbara described her as bounding onto the stage in a bright red suit, greeting the crowd with, “We have been through so (freaking) much, have we not!”
She’s aware, though, of what happens to comics who criticize Trump. Stephen Colbert lost his late-night gig — officially for financial reasons, though many fans believe otherwise. Jimmy Kimmel almost lost his over comments about Charlie Kirk’s death, and Seth Meyers was recently called a “deranged lunatic” by Trump himself for his jokes.
Still, Poundstone isn’t backing down. “The time for cowardice is over,” she said. “I’m not Colbert or Kimmel, but Trump’s petulant enough he could make collateral damage of smaller people — and not care at all.”
Inspired by historian Heather Cox Richardson and her daily newsletter Letters from an American, Poundstone decided to speak up through her own videos. “People say my posts get them through the day,” she shared. “That makes me feel like I have to keep doing them. The first reason I’m doing it is to be part of the resistance.”
Describing herself as the “little kid punching The Great Santini,” she says, “I’m wailing on Trump and he doesn’t even know it.” But she believes that if everyone “puts an oar in the water,” the country can move forward.
As Poundstone continues her tour and her social media crusade, she’s proving that for her, comedy and courage go hand in hand.
