President Donald Trump wasn’t laughing at Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue on Wednesday evening. Shortly after the most recent Jimmy Kimmel Live! episode hit the airwaves, 47 headed to his Truth Social platform to slam the late-night staple’s jokes, calling for both ABC and broadcasters like Sinclair to yank the show from their rosters … again.
“Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air?” Trump wrote of Kimmel’s monologue, which speculated on the President’s feelings surrounding the release of government files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “Why do the TV Syndicates put up with it? Also, totally biased coverage. Get the bum off the air!!!”
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Kimmel’s monologue included jokes claiming that Trump, who was friends with Epstein years before the financier’s first arrest back in 2006, “hasn’t been this nervous about signing something since Don Junior’s birth certificate.” Kimmel also theorized about whether the President will “pull a Taylor Swift and give us ‘The Epstein Files: Donnie’s Version’ of the document[s].”
Trump’s tweet marks the most recent instance in which he has been vocally irritated with the topic. Earlier this week, the President made headlines after offering a “quiet, piggy” to a Bloomberg reporter who pressed him about the contents of the files, which are set to be released now that Trump has reportedly signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law.
Kimmel’s Program Had Previously Been Suspended by ABC
Kimmel’s recent monologue isn’t the first instance in which his political comments have sparked ire from POTUS and his allies. Disney-owned ABC briefly suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! back in September following the host’s words on the possible political affiliation of Charlie Kirk’s killer.
“The MAGA gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said of Kirk’s accused killer, Tyler Robinson, days after the podcaster was fatally shot. This speculation peeved not only Trump supporters, but also FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who denounced Kimmel’s comments during a podcast appearance shortly after the segment aired. “
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“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” the FCC higher-up said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct to take action on Kimmel or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
After Carr’s comments, Sinclair and fellow broadcaster Nexstar removed Kimmel from their ABC affiliate channels. ABC followed suit, “indefinitely” suspending the program before reversing course days later after public outcry. “We have spent the last days having thoughtful conversations with Jimmy, and after those conversations, we reached the decision to return the show on Tuesday,” Disney announced in a statement.
Upon his network TV return, Kimmel clarified his offending comments, noting that it was “never [his] intention to make light of the murder of a young man.” He continued, “I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.”
Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs weeknights on ABC.