Jay Leno Talks Donald Trump and Late Night at TCA: 'I'd Like to See More Diversity'

Jay Leno thinks Stephen Colbert is going to be “terrific” when the latter takes over the Late Show in September. “People think because of his old show that he’s a raging liberal,” said Leno of Colbert, “but he teaches Sunday school — I think he’s a pretty conservative guy.”

Leno was speaking at the Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles on Thursday, promoting his upcoming CNBC car show, Jay Leno’s Garage. But inevitably, late-night subjects arose.

Of Colbert’s entry into network late night, Leno joked, “The idea of a white guy in late night — it’s revolutionary!” He added, “I’d like to see more diversity — there should be a female host, another African-American host in late night.”

Has he been invited by Colbert to appear on his CBS show? Leno said, “No, not yet. But I’m loyal to NBC anyway, so I do Jimmy Fallon and Seth [Myers]. You go on another network and people start reading things into it — ‘Oh, he doesn’t like this host,’ stuff like that, it’s silly.”

Asked if he’d been itching to do any Donald Trump jokes, Leno complied: “I guess Jeb Bush and Trump are the [Republican] frontrunners right now. It’s kinda like a race between the tortoise and the bad hare.” (Get it?)

Jay Leno’s Garage premieres Oct. 7 at 10 p.m. on CNBC.