Kimmel’s Epstein Monologue Draws Trump’s Fury, Sparking Fresh White House Feud With Late-Night TV

By James Poniewozik and Michael M. Grynbaum Washington — Nov. 29, 2025

President Donald J. Trump, whose second term has been a nonstop spectacle of grievance and grandstanding, erupted in a familiar fury on Friday after ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel devoted a 10-minute monologue to the president’s ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender whose files Congress forced the Justice Department to release. In a midnight Truth Social screed, Mr. Trump branded Mr. Kimmel a “bum with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS” and demanded ABC “get him off the air,” igniting a maelstrom at Mar-a-Lago that aides described as a “full meltdown.” The clash, unfolding amid the Epstein document deadline, has revived Mr. Trump’s long-running war on late-night comedy, with Mr. Kimmel firing back on air: “I’ll go when you go — quiet, piggy.”

The episode, which dominated Friday’s media cycle, traces to Wednesday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” where the host opened with a blistering takedown of Mr. Trump’s reversal on the Epstein files. Congress, overriding White House veto threats, passed legislation last week mandating the release of thousands of pages from Epstein’s correspondence, flight logs and victim statements — documents long sought by victims’ advocates and Democrats probing Mr. Trump’s past social orbit with the disgraced financier. Mr. Trump, who once called Epstein a “terrific guy” in a 2002 interview, signed the bill under pressure but has since assailed it as a “Democrat witch hunt.”

Mr. Kimmel, 57, wasted no time. “We are ever closer to answering the question: What did the president know, and how old were these women when he knew it?” he quipped, riffing on Watergate’s “What did he know and when did he know it?” The comedian, drawing on flight logs showing Mr. Trump’s seven trips on Epstein’s plane in the 1990s, deadpanned: “Donald’s been on more Lolita Express flights than a mile-high club member at a frequent flier seminar.” He pivoted to Mr. Trump’s recent Oval Office snap at a Bloomberg reporter — “Quiet, piggy!” — after questions about the files, adding: “If that’s how he talks to journalists, imagine what he whispered to Epstein over Mar-a-Lago steaks.” The bit, laced with photos of the two men at 1990s galas, ended with a mock Christmas card: “Merry Epstein-mas from the White House — files included.” The monologue, viewed over 8 million times on YouTube by Friday, drew roars from the studio audience and instant viral traction, with #QuietPiggy trending nationwide.

Mr. Trump’s response came at 12:49 a.m. Thursday, 11 minutes after the East Coast feed ended — a detail Mr. Kimmel would gleefully note. “Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air?” he wrote. “Get the bum off the air!!!” The post, amplified by MAGA influencers, quickly amassed 20 million views, but it masked deeper disquiet at Mar-a-Lago. Aides, gathered for a post-Thanksgiving briefing, described a scene of chaos: Mr. Trump, red-faced and pacing the gilded ballroom, barked orders to contact FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee who had previously pressured ABC over Mr. Kimmel’s content. “He’s obsessed — it’s like 2017 all over again, but with Epstein grenades exploding,” one senior adviser said, speaking anonymously to detail private deliberations. By dawn, the White House had fired off a 17-point memo to ABC executives, listing grievances from Mr. Kimmel’s “biased” coverage to a recent “Golden Bachelor” promo deemed “anti-family.”

The meltdown echoed Mr. Trump’s first-term vendettas against late-night hosts, whom he once lumped as “talentless” purveyors of “fake news.” In July, CBS canceled “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” after FCC scrutiny over a skit mocking Mr. Trump’s border policies; Mr. Kimmel faced a three-day suspension in September for jokes about the MAGA response to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. “This is the pattern: Joke, outrage, threat, chill,” said David Bianculli, a television historian at Rowan University. “But Epstein’s a third rail — personal, explosive. Trump’s not just mad; he’s cornered.”

Mr. Kimmel, ever the pugilist, addressed the tirade head-on during Thursday’s monologue, his first post-post. “Thanks for watching, Mr. President — viewers like you keep us on the air, ironically,” he said, mimicking Mr. Trump’s drawl. “You’ve tried to get me fired every five weeks. Talk about a snowflake.” He proposed a pact: “I’ll go when you go. Let’s ride into the sunset like Butch Cassidy and the Suntan Kid. Until then: Quiet, piggy.” The line, borrowing Mr. Trump’s slur against the reporter, drew a standing ovation and immediate backlash from conservatives. On Fox News, host Sean Hannity called it “vile defamation,” while Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., tweeted: “Kimmel’s a clown — time to #CancelKimmel for real.”

The feud has broader ripples. ABC, owned by Disney, is bracing for FCC probes; Chairman Carr, in a Friday statement, announced a review of “affiliate compliance” with indecency standards, citing Mr. Kimmel’s “potentially obscene” Epstein references. Late-night peers rallied: On “The Tonight Show,” Jimmy Fallon quipped, “Trump wants Kimmel fired? Tell him to try stand-up — he’d bomb harder than his golf swing.” Stephen Colbert, now hosting a podcast after his show’s axing, posted a video toast: “To Jimmy — the last man standing against the orange tide.” Democrats, eyeing 2026, seized the moment: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., praised Mr. Kimmel on the floor as a “truth-teller,” while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., introduced a resolution shielding broadcasters from political retaliation.

At Mar-a-Lago, the frenzy spilled into strategy sessions. Mr. Trump, golfing amid the din, dictated follow-up posts from his cart, railing against “Hollywood elites” and teasing a “major announcement” on media reform. Aides, juggling Epstein fallout — with the first files due Dec. 20 — urged restraint, fearing a Streisand effect. “He’s nuts about this — it’s personal,” the adviser said. “Epstein hits too close; Kimmel made it a punch line.” Polling from a Republican firm showed Mr. Trump’s approval slipping to 40 percent among independents, with late-night clips cited as a turnout suppressant for midterms.

For Mr. Kimmel, the dust-up is a double-edged sword. His ratings, steady at 2.1 million viewers, spiked 25 percent post-suspension, but ABC executives worry about advertiser pullouts from boycotts by groups like the Family Research Council. “Comedy’s our last free speech frontier,” Mr. Kimmel told guests post-taping, per a network source. “Trump can tweet all he wants — we’ll keep the mic hot.”

The saga underscores a presidency where pop culture bleeds into policy, and vice versa. Mr. Trump, once a reality TV king, now wars with its satirists as if they wield gavels. Historians liken it to Nixon’s “last-night letter” to critics, but amplified by algorithms. “Late-night isn’t just jokes; it’s the opposition’s megaphone,” said Kathryn Cramer Brownell, a media historian at Purdue University. “Trump’s meltdown? It’s fuel for Kimmel — and a reminder that in the attention economy, outrage is the ultimate ratings grab.”

As Friday faded, Mr. Trump retreated to a donor dinner, where he reportedly vowed: “Kimmel’s done — watch.” But with Epstein’s shadow looming and late-night unbowed, the takedown may prove less a destruction than a detonation — leaving Mar-a-Lago smoldering, and Washington chuckling. In a divided nation, one man’s meltdown is another’s midnight muse.