President Donald Trump has revived his attacks against late night host Jimmy Kimmel.
“We have never had a president hosting the awards before. This is the first,” Trump, 79, said while hosting the Kennedy Center Honors on Saturday, December 7, per Deadline. “I’m sure they’ll give me great reviews, right? You know, they’ll say he was horrible. He was terrible. It was a horrible situation. No, we’ll do fine.”
Trump then proceeded to compare himself to previous hosts of the event, claiming that he “watched some of the people that host” before stepping on stage that evening.
“Jimmy Kimmel was horrible, and some of these people,” Trump added. “If I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don’t think I should be president.” (Kimmel notably has never hosted the Kennedy Center Honors, but did make an appearance during the 2012 event when Barack Obama was president.)
The president’s latest remarks are a continuation of his long-standing feud with the host and comedian. After Kimmel was briefly pulled from the air in September following comments the late night host made in the aftermath of the shooting death of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, Trump was among his loudest critics.
“Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” Trump wrote via his social media platform, Truth Social, in September. “Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done.”
Trump also called out late night hosts Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon in what many described as an attack on free speech and the freedom of the press. (Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, threatened ABC, Disney and Kimmel in response to the host’s monologue while appearing on a far-right podcast prior to the show being pulled off the air, prompting widespread criticism and calls of a blatant abuse of power.)
Donald Trump Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible,” he wrote. “That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT.”
Trump reacted less enthusiastically after Kimmel was reinstated on ABC on September 23, 2025.
“I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,” Trump began a second Truth Social post at the time. “The White House was told by ABC that his show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there. Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE.”
The president continued, “He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings.”
Trump has not let up on his attacks on other late night hosts, either. In November, Trump once again went after Meyers.
“Seth Meyers of NBC may be the least talented person to ‘perform’ live in the history of television,” the president wrote via Truth Social on November 1. “In fact, he may be the WORST to perform, live or otherwise. I watched his show the other night for the first time in years. In it he talked needlessly about electric catapults on aircraft carriers which I complain about as not being as good as much less expensive steam catapults.”
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