Jimmy Kimmel’s recent comment about Donald Trump is not the first time the late-night talk show host has publicly made jokes towards the US president.
Mr Trump, 79, has called for Kimmel, 58, to be sacked following a joke he made about the first lady Melania Trump, in which he said she had a "glow like an expectant widow" just days before a gunman attempted to storm the White House correspondents’ dinner.
Kimmel has previously made comments about the US president on his chat show Jimmy Kimmel Live!
November 2024
The host struggled to hold back tears during the opening monologue to his chat show as he described Mr Trump’s victory in the US presidential election as a "terrible night".
"More than half of this country voted for the criminal who is planning to pardon himself for his crimes. I guess this election wasn’t rigged," he joked in the speech.
Becoming emotional, Kimmel said: "It was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hard-working immigrants who make this country go, for healthcare, for our climate, for science, for journalism, for justice, for free speech… "
September 2025
After the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, Kimmel told his audience that "many in Maga land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk" and that "the Maga gang" was "desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them".
Mr Kirk was shot during an event on a Utah University campus on 10 September last year.
ABC made the decision to take Kimmel off air, leading to Mr Trump congratulating the network on Truth Social, saying that it had "the courage to do what had to be done".
The suspension was met with criticism from the public, some of Hollywood’s biggest stars and political figures slammed the US administration for infringing on their freedom of speech and free press, leading to Kimmel’s return five days later.
Kimmel said upon his return that he never meant to make light of Mr Kirk’s murder.
October 2025
Just over a week after the chat show host returned, he and fellow TV host Stephen Colbert appeared on one another’s shows, with Kimmel saying that they thought it would be a "fun way to drive the president nuts".
In his opening monologue, he said: "My fellow late-night host, Stephen Colbert, is here with us.
"It’s the show the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) doesn’t want you to see.
"We’re doing something fun tonight. We’re doing something unprecedented tonight. I think it’s unprecedented. I did not bother to check.
"Tonight, Stephen is a guest on our show. I will simultaneously be a guest on his show. We thought it might be a fun way to drive the president nuts."
March 2026
The host appeared to make a dig at the president and his wife while presenting the Oscars.
At the time, Melania had recently released her own documentary, and Kimmel said: "Oh man, is he gonna be mad his wife wasn’t nominated for this."
Source: Press Association
