Trump Renews Call for Kimmel’s Firing After Late-Night Host’s Epstein Jabs, Sparking Frenzy at Mar-a-Lago

By Sarah Ellison The New York Times November 22, 2025

LOS ANGELES — President Trump’s long-simmering feud with Jimmy Kimmel boiled over again late Wednesday when the comedian used his monologue on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to skewer the president’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, prompting Mr. Trump to demand the host’s immediate ouster from ABC in a midnight Truth Social post that ignited a scramble among White House aides and a viral backlash across social media.

The segment, which has drawn more than 35 million views online since airing, centered on Mr. Trump’s abrupt reversal earlier this week: After months of resisting a bipartisan bill to unseal Epstein’s documents, the president signed it into law under congressional pressure, a move Mr. Kimmel framed as “transparency theater from the guy who treats subpoenas like party invitations.” “Every time he gets asked about Jeffrey Epstein, he loses his mind,” Mr. Kimmel quipped, replaying clips of Mr. Trump’s testy Oval Office exchange with an ABC News reporter on Tuesday, where the president snapped, “Quiet, piggy!” when pressed on the files’ contents. The studio audience erupted in a mix of laughter and gasps, rising to its feet as Mr. Kimmel added, “It’s like he’s auditioning for the role of grumpy cat in the White House.”

Mr. Kimmel didn’t stop there. He mocked Mr. Trump’s claim that the Epstein ties were “fake news,” juxtaposing it with a montage of the president’s past praise for the financier — including a 2002 quote calling Epstein a “terrific guy” — and his recent Saudi state dinner, quipping, “Elon Musk and MBS? That’s not diplomacy; that’s a coupon swap meet for oligarchs.” The host also took aim at the administration’s broader opacity, from unreleased tax returns to redacted Jan. 6 committee transcripts, declaring, “If the files are so harmless, why does the guy who built a career on ‘you’re fired’ suddenly sound like he’s hiding under the Resolute Desk?”

The monologue concluded with a defiant nod to Mr. Trump’s escalating threats against broadcasters. “He keeps saying we have bad ratings,” Mr. Kimmel said, flashing a graphic of the president’s latest Quinnipiac approval rating — a second-term low of 39 percent. “And you should listen to him, because if anyone knows about bad ratings, it’s that guy.” The crowd’s ovation lasted nearly a minute, forcing the house band to improvise a transition as confetti rained down.

At 12:49 a.m. Eastern time — just 11 minutes after the show ended on the East Coast — Mr. Trump fired back 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 post, viewed more than 12 million times by midday Friday, echoed Mr. Trump’s similar demands in September, when pressure from his handpicked Federal Communications Commission chairman, Brendan Carr, and affiliates like Nexstar and Sinclair led to a weeklong suspension of Mr. Kimmel’s show over comments linking a conservative activist’s death to MAGA rhetoric.

Inside Mar-a-Lago, where Mr. Trump was hosting a post-Thanksgiving donor retreat, the reaction was one of “instant panic,” according to three people familiar with the evening who spoke on condition of anonymity. The president, alerted by a buzzing phone from press secretary Karoline Leavitt, demanded the monologue be pulled up on a conference room screen. As the “Quiet, piggy!” clip played — Mr. Kimmel borrowing Mr. Trump’s own viral retort — the room fell silent before erupting into a flurry of calls. Mr. Trump reportedly paced, face reddening, barking at aides: “These clowns think they’re funny? Call Brendan — tell him ABC’s done for good.” Ms. Leavitt, monitoring from the White House, texted allies accusing Mr. Kimmel of “deep-state coordination,” while communications director Steven Cheung drafted a follow-up statement framing the host as a “Soros-funded propagandist.”

The scramble extended into Friday morning. FCC Chairman Carr, fielding a 20-minute call from Mr. Trump at 1:15 a.m., assured him of “ongoing bias reviews” but urged caution to avoid alienating suburban voters ahead of 2026 midterms, the people said. By dawn, Mr. Trump had amplified the feud with reposts of supporter memes depicting Mr. Kimmel in an orange jumpsuit, drawing rebukes even from Fox News contributors like Guy Benson, who called it “punching down while polls tank.”

Social media amplified the frenzy. #QuietPiggy trended worldwide with 7.2 million posts, spawning TikTok duets where users lip-synced Mr. Kimmel’s line over clips of Mr. Trump’s scowl. Progressive influencers hailed it as “karma for birtherism,” while MAGA accounts rallied under #FireKimmel, sharing doctored images of the host’s head on Epstein’s flight log. Late-night peers piled on: Stephen Colbert staged a mock “intervention” with puppet versions of the two men, quipping, “Donald, if you hate Jimmy so much, why do you watch live? It’s like he’s your guilty pleasure — with better hair.”

For Mr. Kimmel, whose contract expires in May, the episode underscores the high-wire act of late-night satire in Mr. Trump’s America. “I’ll go when you go,” he told the president on air, adding, “Let’s ride off into the sunset together like Butch Cassidy and the Suntan Kid.” ABC executives, still reeling from the September suspension, issued no comment, but sources say they’re bracing for renewed affiliate pushback. Mr. Kimmel, in a post-show clip, shrugged: “If exposing hypocrisy is a crime, lock me up with the rest of the truth-tellers.”

The clash highlights Mr. Trump’s second-term vulnerabilities: a thin skin that turns minor slights into spectacles, even as his administration grapples with shutdown threats and Epstein fallout. Aides worry the files’ December release will fuel more mockery; one quipped privately, “He’s rage-watching his own unraveling.” With approval ratings mired in the low 40s, the president’s focus on a comedian risks alienating the moderates he needs for midterms.

In a media landscape where presidents tweet and hosts roast, Mr. Kimmel’s defiance wasn’t just punchy — it was prescient. As clips flood feeds and Mar-a-Lago simmers, the question lingers: Can laughter topple an empire, or merely annoy it? For now, the studios roar on, while the White House fumes in silence.