Jimmy Kimmel came out with both hands punching Wednesday night in his second show back from suspension, responding to Donald Trump’s latest broadside against him.
Reading from Trump’s Tuesday night Truth Social post, Kimmel quoted the president: “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back.”
“You can’t believe they gave me my job back?,” Kimmel responded. “I can’t believe we gave you your job back!”
The line drew loud cheers and applause.
Kimmel then took apart Trump’s post line by line. When Trump claimed his “talent was never there,” Kimmel deadpanned, “That I can’t argue with.”
Trump’s charge that Kimmel was putting the network “in jeopardy” drew another jab: “Hear that? There’s the threat again! This time, straight from FCC-biscuit’s mouth!”
“You almost have to feel sorry for the people who work for him,” Kimmel added, pivoting to Republican allies defending Trump, including Vice President J.D. Vance.
“They’ve been bending over backwards to say they never threatened us. J.D. Vance today made the claim what the FCC chairman said was a joke. I don’t know, maybe that was a joke? I don’t know,” Kimmel said.
“They go to all these lengths to say, ‘No, that wasn’t coercion! The president was just musing.’ And then the second the president is alone, he sits on the toilet, gets his grubby little thumbs on his phone, and immediately blows their excuses to smithereens.”
Kimmel dismissed Trump’s argument that ratings led to his suspension. “As if anyone ever got fired on a Wednesday because of ratings.”
He wrapped up his response by turning Trump’s insult back on him. “This was his big closer. ‘Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad ratings’ and he knows bad ratings. He has some of the worst ratings any president has ever had.”
“On behalf of all of us,” Kimmel concluded, “welcome to the crappy ratings club, Mr. President.”
Left unsaid was Wednesday’s news that Kimmel’s return drew record ratings, with Tuesday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! hitting a 10+ year high.
