President Trump fired back at Jimmy Kimmel and ABC after the late-night host mocked him during Wednesday night’s monologue, accusing the network of keeping a “no talent” comedian on the air. The clash kicked off after Kimmel suggested Trump was panicking over the looming release of documents connected to Jeffrey Epstein.
Kimmel, during Wednesday’s show, described the upcoming release of Epstein-related documents as “Hurricane Epstein,” joking that it was a “Category 5” headed straight toward Trump. In a YouTube upload titled “Trump Braces for Hurricane Epstein,” Kimmel ramped up the rhetoric, telling viewers: “We are one step closer to answering the question, what did the president know and how old were these women when he knew it.”
The host portrayed the former president as terrified of what could be revealed in the long-awaited Epstein files, but offered no evidence for his claims, instead leaning into the speculation for laughs from the studio audience.
True to form, Trump wasted no time in sending a brutal message to Kimmel. “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 early Thursday. He went on to call the show “totally biased” and demanded networks “get the bum off the air.”
The President took to Truth Social to voice his fury. Credit: Donald Trump / Truth Social.
Congress passes Epstein Files Bill with overwhelming support
The heated exchange came as Congress moved forward on the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The House passed the measure 427-1 on Tuesday, and the Senate quickly followed with unanimous consent, sending the bill to Trump’s desk, Sky News reported. Kimmel joked that the vote was such a “landslide” that Trump might “rebury the Epstein files under it.”
In reality, Trump signed the bill Wednesday night, just hours before Kimmel’s show aired – despite Kimmel claiming there was only a “12 percent chance” he’d go through with it.
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Donald and Melania Trump pictured with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Credit: Davidoff Studios / Getty Images.
Kimmel’s previous suspension adds more fuel
Kimmel’s clash with Trump comes on the heels of his recent suspension. ABC paused the show in September after the host made controversial remarks about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. He returned a week later without a direct apology, instead taking fresh shots at Trump and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
The suspension followed the fatal shooting of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on September 10. Police charged Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder and related offenses.
As tensions rise again between Trump and Kimmel, the late-night host shows no signs of easing up – and neither does the president.