Nick Offerman on Ron Swanson's Politics and Why "We're All F---ing Idiots"

How does Nick Offerman feel about his Parks and Rec character Ron Swanson being adopted by some on the far right as an icon in support of their ideals when Offerman's own politics are very much the opposite?

"It's very strange," Offerman told Trevor Noah Thursday night on the Daily Show. "I mean, it's a good problem to have. It means that character is ubiquitous enough that people can say 'I claim this icon for my own or my tribe.' Ron himself and the conundrum you're talking about are part of what's wrong with our society. Everyone is that complicated. You can be someone who loves hunting and is really into gun rights for that reason, but isn't necessarily a freaky assault-rifle second-amendment person."

"Everything lacks nuance because of our short attention span and, you know, the amount of characters we're allowed on Twitter," he notes. "That's what my show, All Rise, is all about. It's saying 'we're all f-ing idiots.' We always start there. With all the hearings going on right now, do you somehow think those guys were less of jackasses than we are? They weren't. We're all human beings trying to not shit ourselves everyday."

He later adds "It's celebrating what jackasses we all are, because we supposedly get to pick what happens in this country, and look at what we've done. Look at the mess we've gotten ourselves into."

Noah summed that idea up. "The gift and the curse of freedom, that's exactly what it is."

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Andy Hunsaker has a head full of sitcom gags and nerd-genre lore, and can be followed @AndyHunsaker if you're into that sort of thing.