Jimmy Kimmel took the rare opportunity to congratulate President Trump on some good news.
“What a day for Donald Trump,“ Kimmel said in his Monday monologue. ”He finally did something positive today.”
Kimmel’s comments came after the release of the remaining 20 Israeli hostages and of nearly 2,000 Palestinian detainees; the result of a peace deal brokered by the Trump administration.
Trump flew into Egypt on Sunday and signed the peace deal, saying, “This took 3,000 years to get to this point, can you believe it? … And it’s going to hold up, too.”
Kimmel joked about the president’s achievement, “I want to give him credit for it, because I know he’s not the type to take credit for himself.”
Palestinian youths watch as a Red Cross bus moves towards the eastern Gaza Strip ahead of the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas since the October 7 attacks two years ago. Omar al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images
Kimmel explained the situation on Monday while crediting Trump, who the late-night host has clashed with since taking office.
Trump has repeatedly trash-talked Kimmel and celebrated when his show was briefly taken off the air in September. Kimmel has been highly critical of Trump for both his presidential terms, even directly pleading Trump voters in an October 2024 monologue to change their minds.
“While we’re only in the first phase of what will undoubtedly be a long and tricky process, the fact is the bombing has stopped, the hostages have been released, and Trump deserves some of the praise for that,” Kimmel said Monday.
“And so I know it sounds crazy to say, but good work on that one, President Trump,” Kimmel said.
The 57-year-old added, “Now maybe you can not invade Portland,” referring to how Trump’s unpopular decision to deploy federal troops into blue cities like Portland and Chicago.
Later in his monologue, Kimmel joked about Trump losing the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday after openly vying for it throughout his second term.
“So now Trump’s focused on winning the prize next year, which is fine,” Kimmel said. “Let him keep trying to make peace.”
Kimmel joked, “I’m fine with coming up with prizes and trophies to motivate him. Give him the Nobel Reopen the Government and Leave Healthcare Alone Prize. I have no problem with that.”
Kimmel also covered how Trump received both a flu shot and a COVID-19 booster shot at his annual health checkup on Saturday.
“If you’re wondering if it’s hypocritical for Trump, who has denigrated these vaccines, to get them while his health officials make them difficult for the rest of us to get? The answer is yes, it is,” said Kimmel.
The late-night host joked, “It’s like if we found out Nancy Reagan was smoking crack the whole time.”