Sarah Silverman said an interest in reaching across the political aisle permeates her late-night talk show, “I Love You, America.”
The comedian dropped by “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” Monday, and said her Hulu series aims to tackle current issues by “differentiating between the liars and the lied-to.”
“Facts, poll numbers ― none of those things change our minds. What changes our minds are feelings,” Silverman, who said she looked to “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” for inspiration, said. “We have things in common, all of us. We have to get back to remembering that. As soon as we see people as not people, we can do terrible things to them. I see that happening a lot.”
Now in its second season, “I Love You, America” has been known for its comedic look at U.S. politics. An episode last month featured a guest appearance by Socrates (played by Will Ferrell), who sat down with Silverman over lunch to debate American democracy.
Also noteworthy is the show’s “Questions for Trump” segment, in which Silverman interviews the president (impersonator Anthony Atamanuik).
Still, Silverman tells DeGeneres all of the Trump-inspired comedy she writes and performs is actually borne out of feelings of compassion.
“If we look at our president ... I would say something critical to him happened around the age of 8,” she said. “If I didn’t feel he was really hurting people, and literally, my heart breaks for him and his pathology.”
“He’s very stunted,” she added. “He’s in a sandbox mentality, and it’s a little heartbreaking.”
Later in the interview, Silverman opened up about her experience on a date with former Republican National Committee communications director Doug Heye, as seen in an “I Love You, America” episode last month.
Since things didn’t pan out beyond the one date with Heye, DeGeneres led Silverman through a game of “Tinder Live” in an effort to spice up her love life. Her top contenders? John Cena and Drake.