Over the weekend, Donald Trump dubbed Jimmy Kimmel a “horrible” host, proclaiming that he would do a better job helming the Kennedy Center Honors on Sunday night. Kimmel was quick to fire back on the latest episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, noting that there’s a reason the president doesn’t typically host the annual honors.
“He’s been boasting about hosting, saying, ‘We’ve never had a president host the Kennedy Center Honors before,’ which, yeah, why do you think that is?” Kimmel said. “We’ve also never had Neil Patrick Harris order a military strike on a fishing boat before.”
“Trump was obviously very excited to headline this once prestigious event,” Kimmel continued. “He even waddled the red carpet, where he was all fired up.” Kimmel then played a clip of Trump telling reporters that Kimmel is one of the “not so great” hosts.
“That is very hurtful. I thought we were friends,” Kimmel responded. “I don’t know what’s going on. He is really fixated. I’m starting to think he might have a crush on me.”
Kimmel played a second clip in which Trump declared, “I’ve watched some of the people that host. Jimmy Kimmel was horrible, and some of these people, if I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don’t think I should be president.”
“Agreed,” Kimmel replied. “I’m with you. I don’t think I’ve ever agreed with anything more than that. Do you think he even knows I’ve never hosted the Kennedy Center Honors? Maybe he’s confusing me with Queen Latifah. As far as this ‘Who has more talent?’ thing goes, it seems like he’s challenging me to a contest. Which, if so, I’m open to it. Let’s do it. Let’s have a talent competition. I’ll come out, I’ll tell a few jokes, I’ll draw something, I’ll play my clarinet. He can play golf, spank a porn star, and ruin a country.”
Later, Kimmel told the audience he renewed his deal to host Jimmy Kimmel Live until May 2027, as announced yesterday.
“I was giving a lot of thought and decided I would like to spend less time with my family, and so to our audience here and at home, I’m honored and humbled to be a part of your routine,” Kimmel said. “Whether it’s in bed at night, or during your morning toilet time. It means a lot to me to have your attention and to work with this great group of people for another year.”
Kimmel’s ABC deal was reportedly finalized over the summer — before the network’s September suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, following a monologue in the wake of Charlie Kirk‘s murder. That suspension, which came after heavy pressure from the Trump administration, conservative activists, and network affiliates, was billed as “indefinite.” It ended up lasting just a few days, after it prompted a ferocious backlash of its own, with consumers apparently canceling their Disney+ subscriptions en masse and actors and other showbiz figures condemning ABC and its parent company, Disney.
Kimmel returned to the show with a studio audience chanting his name. His 17-minute monologue, in which he said it was “never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,” drew 6.26 million viewers, making it the most-watched regular episode in the show’s history.
