President Donald Trump and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel continue to trade barbs, and this week the president again called for Kimmel to be taken off the air. His complaint came after Kimmel discussed the ongoing Epstein files saga during an opening monologue.
In the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” monologue, the comedian said that Jeffrey Epstein, a disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, “considered himself to be Trump’s closest friend,” for years. Epstein was known for developing relationships with wealthy and famous people, including Trump, former President Bill Clinton and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew). Trump has acknowledged knowing Epstein but reportedly cut ties with him in the early 2000s.
This year, the Trump administration has been under fire from both Democrats and Republicans who want all the information the government has on Epstein to be made public. After his 2019 death – reportedly a suicide, according to officials – in a jail cell, rumors have swirled around what Epstein’s high-profile contacts knew about his crimes, including activities on what Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) called Epstein’s “rape island.”
While Trump did sign legislation to release the Epstein information, that move came after he dismissed the effort as a waste of time. It also came after a joint memo from the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation indicated no more Epstein information would be made public. Now there is concern, voiced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), that Trump intends to prevent the release by ordering more investigations regarding Epstein. Audacy explained earlier this week why that would slow things down.
“We don’t know whether the Department of Justice will release all of the files or if they will be tied up in investigations. Specifically, investigations Trump orders to keep them tied up in investigations,” said Kimmel.
He added: “Will we get the original documents or is Trump going to pull a Taylor Swift and give us the Epstein files ‘Donnie’s Version’ of the documents? We might not ever know.”
Kimmel also noted that some of what he called Trump’s “loyal footlickers,” including Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo,) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) broke ranks and opposed him over the Epstein drama. Greene announced Friday that she would be resigning from Congress next January amid her falling out with Trump.
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, another reported friend of Epstein, per CBS News, visited the White House this week. Kimmel mentioned this during his monologue, and the fact that Elon Musk – a former Trump ally that had a breakup with the president earlier this year and threatened to, in Kimmel’s words, “drop a big Epstein bomb on Trump” – was also at the White House.
Following the episode, Trump posted on Truth Social.
“Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air? Why do the TV Syndicates put up with it? Also, totally biased coverage. Get the bum off the air!!!” the president said.
Kimmel addressed the post in another monologue this week.
“A special hello to those of you who are watching from the White House – and you know who you are,” said Kimmel. “I woke up this morning, I’m in bed. My wife comes out of the bathroom, she’s got her phone. She goes ‘Um, Trump tweeted you should be fired again.’”
Tension between the comedian and Trump heated up in September, when Kimmel made comments about the alleged killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and was temporarily booted off the air. Since then, Trump has repeatedly criticized Kimmel in social media posts.
Now, Kimmel said he’s “lost count” of how many times it has happened. After his wife told him about the latest, he said he “went downstairs and made bagels for the kids.”
Kimmel also fired back with a new wave of criticism for the president. This included ripping into Trump’s threats to ABC, the network that airs “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, his attempts to get Kimmel’s fellow late night host Seth Meyers of “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on NBC fired, the incident where the president called a female reporter “piggy” aboard Air Force One and comments that resulted in White House Press Secretary having to tell reporters that Trump does not want to execute members of Congress.
Regarding Trump’s comment that Kimmel should be taken off the air, the comedian said “I’ll go when you go.”