After Kathy Griffin photo debacle, will Trump jokes slow down?

With all the Trump bashing going on both before and since the election, someone had to cross the line and not surprisingly, it was Kathy Griffin. She posed for a photo holding a bloody, beheaded mask resembling President Donald Trump which she joked about while taking it, then later apologized. The photo got her fired from CNN.

Gov. Chris Christie wondered if Stephen Colbert crossed the line when he bashed the president on his late night show. Colbert's jokes can be seen here. The simple fact is, bashing the president is good for business if you're an entertainer in 2017. Thanks in part to Trump bashing, Colbert is now beating Jimmy Fallon in the ratings, and if he needs any help, he can always call in Jon Stewart and as well as his other former Daily Show alumni who have already come on to help.

Speaking of DS alumni, John Oliver is also doing very well with Trump bashing on his "Last Week Tonight" show on HBO. Let's not forget "Saturday Night Live" which has given another tool in the comedy toolbox to both Alec Baldwin and Melissa McCarthy among others, and the list goes on. As they say in limbo, "How low can you go?"

Now we know because Kathy Griffin showed us, and she's paying for it with her career. What she did was vile and disgusting and with premeditation. She did it because she thought it was good for business. Then there's the apology which looks to me like she's apologizing simply for crossing the line, not for the insensitivity of what she did.

And where do we go from here with the Trump jokes? The goal of comics and writers is to get as close to the line as possible without crossing it. Now that someone has everything else is going to be compared to that. Does that mean the Trump jokes calm down or stop? Do you want them to? It's your call.

Steve Trevelise is on the air from Monday-Thursday, 7 to 11 p.m. Tweet him @realstevetrev or @nj1015.