Conan O'Brien Says Modern Politics Lacks Soul
The former NBC late-night host made the remarks at the 27th annual New Yorker Festival, comparing today's politics to identically designed cars.
Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in Car Culture
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Former NBC late-night host Conan O'Brien said modern politics rewards people with no soul during a speech at the 27th annual New Yorker Festival on Monday. He cited an ad run by Vivek Ramaswamy as an example of behavior lacking soul.
Why it matters
O'Brien's remarks add a voice from the entertainment world to ongoing debate about the tone of campaign messaging. The comments came on the eve of the 2026 midterm elections, when political advertising is at its peak.
The remarks were delivered at the 27th annual New Yorker Festival, a long-running cultural event. The source does not report any audience figures or response data.
The players
Conan O'Brien
Conan O'Brien is a comedy writer and television host best known for hosting NBC's late-night program.
Vivek Ramaswamy
Vivek Ramaswamy is a businessman and political figure whose campaign advertisement O'Brien criticized.
The details
O'Brien compared modern politics to car manufacturers whose designs have become aerodynamically identical after adopting wind tunnel development. He said he finds current cultural developments sad.
Timeline
Monday: O'Brien speaks at the 27th annual New Yorker Festival.
November 2, 2026: Eve of the 2026 midterm elections.
Roadmap
Car manufacturers increasingly rely on wind tunnel testing, which has pushed vehicle silhouettes toward similar aerodynamic shapes across brands. O'Brien applies that industry pattern to political communication, arguing that messaging has converged in a similarly uniform way.
The comparison to aerodynamically identical cars suggests a pattern readers may notice across campaign ads, with similar tone and messaging appearing from multiple candidates. Voters encountering political ads in the final stretch before the midterms may find the stylistic overlap hard to tell apart.
The takeaway
O'Brien's comparison suggests that uniformity in political messaging can make candidates hard to distinguish, much as wind tunnel design has flattened car styling. Readers evaluating ads can look past tone to the substance each message actually offers.
Further reading
For more on how automotive design trends reflect broader industry shifts, see Car Culture.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Breitbart.
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