Kimmel says 'no one respects' Trump and 'world is laughing at him'
- - Kimmel says 'no one respects' Trump and 'world is laughing at him'
Brendan Morrow, USA TODAYDecember 18, 2025 at 6:19 AM
0
It's safe to say Jimmy Kimmel wasn't eagerly anticipating President Donald Trump's primetime address.
In his latest "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" monologue, the comedian mocked Trump for delivering a speech from the White House earlier that evening, which interrupted several shows, including "Survivor" and "The Floor."
"It's weird to think that had a couple of states just gone the other way, he'd be hosting one of those shows," he said. "Trump shouldn't be pre-empting 'The Floor.' He should be mopping it."
Because his show is taped earlier in the day, Kimmel didn't get into the content of Trump's speech, but he dubbed the address a "surprise, primetime episode of 'The Worst Wing'" and a "liar-side chat."
Kimmel went on to slam Trump for installing new plaques in the White House that are heavily critical of his presidential predecessors, including one that calls former President Joe Biden "by far, the worst President in American history."
After clarifying that "these are real, we didn't alter these," Kimmel read several of the plaques and expressed his shock and outrage.
Jimmy Kimmel hosts "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
"What a sad individual," Kimmel said, suggesting the plaques come from a place of insecurity because Trump knows "deep down" that "no one respects him" and "the world is laughing at him."
Jimmy Kimmel accuses Trump of trying to fire him
"It takes a special kind of lunatic to get his insults cast in bronze," he continued, adding, "Can we please put this man in a home before he completely destroys the one he's in now?"
Kimmel also reacted to a Senate hearing on Wednesday where Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr was questioned about the temporary suspension of Kimmel's show. Kimmel was briefly taken off the air in September following pressure from Carr over comments the comic made about the killing of Charlie Kirk.
Describing it as a hearing "about that little incident I had with the FCC that got us an unwanted vacation," Kimmel mocked Carr as a "hairless colon weasel" and remarked that it was "so weird" to watch a congressional hearing about himself. Ultimately, though, the comedian concluded the hearing accomplished nothing at all.
resume production after it was pulled off the air Sept. 17, following comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. Kimmel, a frequent critic of Donald Trump, often earned the ire of the president.After the announcement, Trump urged other networks to do the same. Scroll to see the other late-night talk show hosts that have feuded with the president over the years.
" style=padding-bottom:56%>Comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!", will resume production after it was pulled off the air Sept. 17, following comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. Kimmel, a frequent critic of Donald Trump, often earned the ire of the president.After the announcement, Trump urged other networks to do the same. Scroll to see the other late-night talk show hosts that have feuded with the president over the years.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Fys_.hr.KhMxzUjxCdclTw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD05MjU-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/b99fcada615c931719928dd506a3248a class=caas-img data-headline="Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, see late-night hosts who have beefed with President Trump" data-caption="
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!", will resume production after it was pulled off the air Sept. 17, following comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. Kimmel, a frequent critic of Donald Trump, often earned the ire of the president.After the announcement, Trump urged other networks to do the same. Scroll to see the other late-night talk show hosts that have feuded with the president over the years.
">Comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!", will resume production after it was pulled off the air Sept. 17, following comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. Kimmel, a frequent critic of Donald Trump, often earned the ire of the president.After the announcement, Trump urged other networks to do the same. Scroll to see the other late-night talk show hosts that have feuded with the president over the years.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Fys_.hr.KhMxzUjxCdclTw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD05MjU-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/b99fcada615c931719928dd506a3248a class=caas-img>Fallon is pictured here at the Met Gala on May 5, 2025, in New York City.
" style=padding-bottom:56%>In 2016, Jimmy Fallon interviewed Trump ahead of the election, ruffling the then-candidate's signature orange hair. After the interview received backlash, Fallon said he regretted parts of the interview. In response, Trump took to social media to criticize the "Tonight Show" host, writing: "@jimmyfallon is now whimpering to all that he did the famous 'hair show' with me (where he seriously messed up my hair), & that he would have now done it differently because it is said to have 'humanized' me-he is taking heat. He called & said 'monster ratings.' Be a man Jimmy!" Fallon is pictured here at the Met Gala on May 5, 2025, in New York City.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/OD3fgLWfwBXYVODaPArb6Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD0xODYz/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/9f2567fe7df19ccdb66a36a6fe536600 class=caas-img data-headline="Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, see late-night hosts who have beefed with President Trump" data-caption="
In 2016, Jimmy Fallon interviewed Trump ahead of the election, ruffling the then-candidate's signature orange hair. After the interview received backlash, Fallon said he regretted parts of the interview. In response, Trump took to social media to criticize the "Tonight Show" host, writing: "@jimmyfallon is now whimpering to all that he did the famous 'hair show' with me (where he seriously messed up my hair), & that he would have now done it differently because it is said to have 'humanized' me-he is taking heat. He called & said 'monster ratings.' Be a man Jimmy!" Fallon is pictured here at the Met Gala on May 5, 2025, in New York City.
">In 2016, Jimmy Fallon interviewed Trump ahead of the election, ruffling the then-candidate's signature orange hair. After the interview received backlash, Fallon said he regretted parts of the interview. In response, Trump took to social media to criticize the "Tonight Show" host, writing: "@jimmyfallon is now whimpering to all that he did the famous 'hair show' with me (where he seriously messed up my hair), & that he would have now done it differently because it is said to have 'humanized' me-he is taking heat. He called & said 'monster ratings.' Be a man Jimmy!" Fallon is pictured here at the Met Gala on May 5, 2025, in New York City.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/OD3fgLWfwBXYVODaPArb6Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD0xODYz/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/9f2567fe7df19ccdb66a36a6fe536600 class=caas-img>In 2013, Trump tweeted, "I promise you that I'm much smarter than Jonathan Leibowitz - I mean Jon Stewart @TheDailyShow. Who, by the way, is totally overrated." Stewart is a sharp critic of Trump, often taking aim at the political movement he has created.Here, Stewart is pictured at "The Daily Show" official Emmy Screening on June 7, 2025, in Los Angeles.
" style=padding-bottom:56%>"The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart has a history of heated exchanges with Trump. In 2013, Trump tweeted, "I promise you that I'm much smarter than Jonathan Leibowitz - I mean Jon Stewart @TheDailyShow. Who, by the way, is totally overrated." Stewart is a sharp critic of Trump, often taking aim at the political movement he has created.Here, Stewart is pictured at "The Daily Show" official Emmy Screening on June 7, 2025, in Los Angeles.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/FzFzcy_kAXK18g1DMb7bUw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04NDY-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/a7787c461510dfe3e4ac81df787a7fdf class=caas-img data-headline="Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, see late-night hosts who have beefed with President Trump" data-caption="
"The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart has a history of heated exchanges with Trump. In 2013, Trump tweeted, "I promise you that I'm much smarter than Jonathan Leibowitz - I mean Jon Stewart @TheDailyShow. Who, by the way, is totally overrated." Stewart is a sharp critic of Trump, often taking aim at the political movement he has created.Here, Stewart is pictured at "The Daily Show" official Emmy Screening on June 7, 2025, in Los Angeles.
">"The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart has a history of heated exchanges with Trump. In 2013, Trump tweeted, "I promise you that I'm much smarter than Jonathan Leibowitz - I mean Jon Stewart @TheDailyShow. Who, by the way, is totally overrated." Stewart is a sharp critic of Trump, often taking aim at the political movement he has created.Here, Stewart is pictured at "The Daily Show" official Emmy Screening on June 7, 2025, in Los Angeles.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/FzFzcy_kAXK18g1DMb7bUw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04NDY-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/a7787c461510dfe3e4ac81df787a7fdf class=caas-img>Oliver said he wasn't interested in having Trump on his show, which Trump responded to on X, writing: "John Oliver had his people call to ask me to be on his very boring and low-rated show, I said ‘NO THANKS’ Waste of time & energy!" Oliver refuted that report. Here, Oliver is pictured in at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles.
" style=padding-bottom:56%>John Oliver, a "Daily Show" alum who now hosts “Last Week Tonight” is also a frequent Trump critic, and feuded publicly with the president over a potential show appearance in 2015. Oliver said he wasn't interested in having Trump on his show, which Trump responded to on X, writing: "John Oliver had his people call to ask me to be on his very boring and low-rated show, I said ‘NO THANKS’ Waste of time & energy!" Oliver refuted that report. Here, Oliver is pictured in at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/br78tzy0ST6OZsz8ldnY9w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/f5d81f0a912d9fb5c8131f7d76664a88 class=caas-img data-headline="Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, see late-night hosts who have beefed with President Trump" data-caption="
John Oliver, a "Daily Show" alum who now hosts “Last Week Tonight” is also a frequent Trump critic, and feuded publicly with the president over a potential show appearance in 2015. Oliver said he wasn't interested in having Trump on his show, which Trump responded to on X, writing: "John Oliver had his people call to ask me to be on his very boring and low-rated show, I said ‘NO THANKS’ Waste of time & energy!" Oliver refuted that report. Here, Oliver is pictured in at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles.
">John Oliver, a "Daily Show" alum who now hosts “Last Week Tonight” is also a frequent Trump critic, and feuded publicly with the president over a potential show appearance in 2015. Oliver said he wasn't interested in having Trump on his show, which Trump responded to on X, writing: "John Oliver had his people call to ask me to be on his very boring and low-rated show, I said ‘NO THANKS’ Waste of time & energy!" Oliver refuted that report. Here, Oliver is pictured in at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/br78tzy0ST6OZsz8ldnY9w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/f5d81f0a912d9fb5c8131f7d76664a88 class=caas-img>"I absolutely love that Colbert got fired, his talent was even less than his ratings," the president wrote. Among his late-night peers, Colbert was among Trump's sharpest critics. Colbert is pictured here at Apple TV+'s Primetime Emmy party red carpet on Sept. 14, 2025, in West Hollywood.
" style=padding-bottom:56%>When CBS announced the network was terminating “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” after the 2025-2026 season, Trump took to social media to celebrate. "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired, his talent was even less than his ratings," the president wrote. Among his late-night peers, Colbert was among Trump's sharpest critics. Colbert is pictured here at Apple TV+'s Primetime Emmy party red carpet on Sept. 14, 2025, in West Hollywood.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/GuWHrLEBpl3enxbdL3Qj7w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/bc29a33065546216b51047533665629f class=caas-img data-headline="Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, see late-night hosts who have beefed with President Trump" data-caption="
When CBS announced the network was terminating “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” after the 2025-2026 season, Trump took to social media to celebrate. "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired, his talent was even less than his ratings," the president wrote. Among his late-night peers, Colbert was among Trump's sharpest critics. Colbert is pictured here at Apple TV+'s Primetime Emmy party red carpet on Sept. 14, 2025, in West Hollywood.
">When CBS announced the network was terminating “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” after the 2025-2026 season, Trump took to social media to celebrate. "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired, his talent was even less than his ratings," the president wrote. Among his late-night peers, Colbert was among Trump's sharpest critics. Colbert is pictured here at Apple TV+'s Primetime Emmy party red carpet on Sept. 14, 2025, in West Hollywood.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/GuWHrLEBpl3enxbdL3Qj7w--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/bc29a33065546216b51047533665629f class=caas-img>The ire, it seems, is mutual, with the president writing previously on social media: "How bad is Seth Meyers on NBC, a 'network' run by a truly bad group of people - Remember, they also run MSDNC. I got stuck watching Marble Mouth Meyers the other night, the first time in months, and every time I watch this moron I feel an obligation to say how dumb and untalented he is, merely a slot filler for the Scum that runs Comcast." Meyers is pictured here at SiriusXM's “The Howard Stern Show” on June 17, 2025, in New York City.
" style=padding-bottom:56%>Seth Meyers, the host of "Late Night" on NBC is a frequent critic of Trump and his administration.The ire, it seems, is mutual, with the president writing previously on social media: "How bad is Seth Meyers on NBC, a 'network' run by a truly bad group of people - Remember, they also run MSDNC. I got stuck watching Marble Mouth Meyers the other night, the first time in months, and every time I watch this moron I feel an obligation to say how dumb and untalented he is, merely a slot filler for the Scum that runs Comcast." Meyers is pictured here at SiriusXM's “The Howard Stern Show” on June 17, 2025, in New York City.
" data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/STqpo49YN8HtgkWoxkQqHg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD0xNTg2/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/1161a9de81ca882af7c44505e46efb6a class=caas-img data-headline="Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, see late-night hosts who have beefed with President Trump" data-caption="
Seth Meyers, the host of "Late Night" on NBC is a frequent critic of Trump and his administration.The ire, it seems, is mutual, with the president writing previously on social media: "How bad is Seth Meyers on NBC, a 'network' run by a truly bad group of people - Remember, they also run MSDNC. I got stuck watching Marble Mouth Meyers the other night, the first time in months, and every time I watch this moron I feel an obligation to say how dumb and untalented he is, merely a slot filler for the Scum that runs Comcast." Meyers is pictured here at SiriusXM's “The Howard Stern Show” on June 17, 2025, in New York City.
">Seth Meyers, the host of "Late Night" on NBC is a frequent critic of Trump and his administration.The ire, it seems, is mutual, with the president writing previously on social media: "How bad is Seth Meyers on NBC, a 'network' run by a truly bad group of people - Remember, they also run MSDNC. I got stuck watching Marble Mouth Meyers the other night, the first time in months, and every time I watch this moron I feel an obligation to say how dumb and untalented he is, merely a slot filler for the Scum that runs Comcast." Meyers is pictured here at SiriusXM's “The Howard Stern Show” on June 17, 2025, in New York City.
" src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/STqpo49YN8HtgkWoxkQqHg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD0xNTg2/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_slideshows_242/1161a9de81ca882af7c44505e46efb6a class=caas-img>
1 / 6Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, see late-night hosts who have beefed with President Trump
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!", will resume production after it was pulled off the air Sept. 17, following comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing. Kimmel, a frequent critic of Donald Trump, often earned the ire of the president.After the announcement, Trump urged other networks to do the same. Scroll to see the other late-night talk show hosts that have feuded with the president over the years.
"No one watched this, no one admitted to anything, nothing was done to prevent it from happening again, no one was held accountable, and your freedom of speech is only guaranteed depending upon what you have to say," he said. "It was not the bipartisan effort we might have expected."
Jimmy Kimmel will remain on ABC through 2027 amid ongoing Trump feud
Later in his show, Kimmel sat down with Trump's 2024 election opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris. Kimmel asked Harris if she thinks it's "hypocritical" that "Republicans have mercilessly attacked President Biden for his age and his mental faculty, and yet now we see the current president falling asleep at meetings and drooling on paperwork, and they seem to have no problem with that," to which she simply replied, "You think?"
Jimmy Kimmel speaks during the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles on Oct. 8, 2025.Stephen Colbert declines to cover Trump's speech live: 'I don't want to do that no more'
Meanwhile, on CBS, "The Late Show" host Stephen Colbert opened his Dec. 17 show by explaining why he was not going live to address Trump's primetime speech, as he often does after major news events.
"We talked about doing the show live tonight to cover the speech, but we decided not to because, and just to give you a little peek behind the showbiz certain, we would [have] had to have watched it," he joked. "And I don't want to do that no more."
But after noting Trump announced the speech just one day ahead of time, Colbert joked the president was sending "kind of a mixed signal to announce an emergency, national address because everything's going great."
Contributing: Joey Garrison, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jimmy Kimmel slams Trump primetime speech, White House plaques
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
