Late-night talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel dropped a brutal roast aimed at Donald Trump, and the president — who is known for his petulant and ill-mannered comebacks — is sure to be fired up about the latest joke at his expense.
Kimmel’s show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” was briefly suspended after his fiery Sept. 15 monologue blasting Donald Trump’s nonchalant response to reports about a crisis sparked major backlash amongst the political and entertainment world.
The president not only celebrated Kimmiel’s suspension, he claimed it was “CANCELLED” while encouraging NBC to follow in ABC’s footsteps and fire late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers.
“Great News for America,” wrote Trump. “The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED. Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT.”
After ABC announced that the the late-night comedian would be back on the air the following week, Trump doubled down on Truth Social in his feud with Kimmel.
“I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,” he whined. “The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled!” He also said, “Let Jimmy Kimmel rot.”
Kimmel responded on his show and said, “You can’t believe they gave me my job back? I can’t believe they gave you your job back! We’re even.”
Or so he thought. Kimmel seized the moment in a newly surfaced Instagram post on Sept. 26 to take another swipe at the thin-skinned president. Just days earlier, Trump and First Lady Melania went viral after an escalator abruptly stopped as they stepped on in New York City, forcing the couple to awkwardly hike their way up. Trump later went on TV, griping about the malfunction and even suggesting he was being sabotaged.
“All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that, on the way up, stopped right in the middle,” said Trump in a press conference, per People. “If the first lady wasn’t in great shape, she would have fallen. But she’s in great shape. We’re both in good shape, we both stood.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also couldn’t resist, posting a photo of a broken escalator inside Trump Tower to jab at the former president.
In the same vein, Kimmel shared a new post, revealing he and his sidekick on this show, Guillermo Rodriguez, packed up from their Los Angeles studio and headed to Trump’s old stomping grounds in New York, taping the show in the Big Apple for a week.
He shared a picture on Instagram of Rodriguez riding an escalator at the airport with the caption, “Headed to Brooklyn! Escalator is working great! #KimmelinBrooklyn.”
Kimmel’s comment section erupted with laughter as fans piled on the latest Trump roast.
“Hahhhaa!”
“Eat your heart out Trump!”
“I am so glad the escalator didn’t get stuck.”
“Best luck to ya! Hold onto the railing in case the escalator is suddenly stopped and lunges people!”
According to an NBC News report, the UN accused a White House videographer of “unintentionally” triggering a safety mechanism. “I’m so glad YOUR videographer didn’t hit the escalator button,” said one person, while another wrote, “Toooo funny when it comes to this escalator photo!”
When Kimmel’s suspension ended Sept. 23 and he went back on the air, the show had it’s highest ratings in 23 years with more than 6.26 million viewers on TV. On YouTube, the episode was viewed more than 22 million times.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs weeknights on ABC. The show will be broadcast live from Brooklyn, New York Monday, Sept. 29, through Friday, Oct. 3.
As Kimmel prepares for a week of live shows in New York, support from fellow talk show host underscores how the backlash he’s facing is part of a broader pattern in late-night television.
Other big names have rallied behind Kimmel, including “The View” hosts, who’ve also been under fire for their coverage of Trump on their show. The women reacted the same way when CBS announced in July that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” would be ending in May.
“Someone can say something they shouldn’t and get taken off the air,” Whoopi Goldberg said on the Sept. 22 show, “but the government cannot apply pressure to force someone to be silenced.”
“We talk about freedom of speech a lot because we are always in somebody’s mess because somebody has decided that we have said something that’s offensive,” she continued. “But we fight for everybody’s right to have freedom of speech because it means my speech is free, it means your speech is free.”
Just as Whoopi Goldberg has faced calls for cancellation over controversial comments, Award-winning actor and former host of “The Daily Show” Marlon Wayans, who also has a history of backlash for his comedy and political commentary, has come to Kimmel’s defense, calling Kimmel’s suspension a “shame.”
