Donald Trump‘s war on late night rages on as the president once again calls for Jimmy Kimmel to be pulled from the air.
Early Thursday morning, the president took to social media after getting called out during the Wednesday monologue of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air?” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Why do the TV Syndicates put up with it? Also, totally biased coverage. Get the bum off the air!!!”
The post came hours after Kimmel opened his Wednesday show by suggesting that Trump should be bracing for impact as the Epstein files inch closer to release. President Donald Trump.
Anna Rose Layden/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty
“We are carefully following the path of Hurricane Epstein right now,” Kimmel began. “It is a Category 5, it’s expected to make landfall sometime very soon. We are now one step closer to answering the question: what did the president know and how old were these women when he knew it?”
That same day, Trump announced that he had signed legislation instructing the Department Of Justice to release the files it has on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein within 30 days. Kimmel pointed out that although Trump said that he would declassify the Epstein files while running for president in 2024, he has spent the last few months speaking out against the idea. However, he changed his tune after the Senate and House of Representatives voted through the release of the files.
“Usually when Trump gets a bill, he declares bankruptcy and doesn’t pay it,” Kimmel joked. “But this one, he’s gonna have to sign it. Or at least he says he’s gonna sign it, which means there’s about a 12 percent chance he will.”
This certainly wasn’t Kimmel’s first time pointing out Trump’s reaction to the Epstein files. During his Tuesday show, he said of Trump, “Every time he gets asked about Jeffrey Epstein, he loses his mind.”
He also expressed skepticism that the 23,000 documents that the House Oversight Committee allegedly received from the Epstein estate would ever truly see the light of day. Donald Trump; Jimmy Kimmel.
Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty; ABC
“If anyone thinks he’s going to release all the Epstein files, I’ve got a beautiful East Wing of the White House to sell you,” Kimmel quipped, referencing Trump’s recent demolition of the historic East Wing to make room for a ballroom.
Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.
Trump’s ongoing criticisms of Kimmel’s show continues a tumultuous year for the late-night host, who was indefinitely suspended in September after two major broadcast station owners, Nexstar and Sinclair, pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live from several of their affiliate groups. The suspension, a reaction to Kimmel’s remarks about conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination, was celebrated by Trump. Kimmel was back on the air a week later.
More recently, Kimmel took a brief hiatus following the death of his bandleader, Cleto Escobedo III, on Nov. 11 at 59. The loss led to an emotional monologue from Kimmel memorializing Escobedo, who was also his best friend since childhood. During the opening credits of the show’s Nov. 17 episode, the band was introduced as the Cletones, a change from Cleto and the Cletones.
Watch Kimmel’s latest monologue above.
Leave a Reply