Trump Renews Attacks on Jimmy Kimmel, Urging ABC to Cancel His Late-Night Show Amid Escalating Media Feud

By Sarah Kessler Dec. 4, 2025

WASHINGTON — President Donald J. Trump escalated his long-running feud with late-night television on Thursday, calling on ABC to cancel “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” in a midnight post on Truth Social that decried the host as a talentless performer with dismal ratings. The outburst came hours after Mr. Kimmel and guest host Desi Lydic unleashed a barrage of on-air mockery targeting Mr. Trump and his administration, drawing raucous applause from the studio audience and, reportedly, ripples of unrest at the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

“Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air?” Mr. Trump wrote at 12:49 a.m. Eastern time, shortly after the episode aired. “Why do the TV Syndicates put up with it? Get the bum off the air!” The post, which garnered over 2 million views within hours, marked the latest salvo in a months-long battle that has raised alarms about the boundaries of presidential power over the press.

The episode in question, broadcast Wednesday night from ABC’s studios in Los Angeles, featured Mr. Kimmel’s signature monologue skewering Mr. Trump over the ongoing release of documents from the Jeffrey Epstein case, in which the president’s name has surfaced repeatedly. “If there’s one thing Donald Trump hates more than losing an election, it’s losing a flight log,” Mr. Kimmel quipped, referring to Epstein’s private jet, known as the “Lolita Express.” The host then pivoted to Congress’s recent vote to unseal additional Epstein correspondence, joking that Mr. Trump’s “best distractions” — from tariff announcements to cabinet shake-ups — were failing to divert attention from the revelations.

The studio erupted in sustained laughter and applause as Mr. Kimmel displayed on-screen graphics juxtaposing Mr. Trump’s past denials with newly public emails linking him to Epstein’s orbit. “He says he barely knew the guy, but they flew together more times than his hair flies in the wind,” Mr. Kimmel said, prompting cheers that drowned out the band.

Adding fuel to the fire, Ms. Lydic, the correspondent from Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” who served as a guest host for a segment on Mar-a-Lago’s inner workings, delivered her own takedown. In a pre-taped bit filmed amid palm trees and golf carts, Ms. Lydic infiltrated a mock “chaos briefing” at the estate, portraying aides scrambling over Mr. Trump’s latest Truth Social rants. “It’s like herding cats, if the cats were golden retrievers wearing red hats and yelling about windmills,” she deadpanned, imitating a flustered staffer. Her routine, which included satirical jabs at Mr. Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and his alleged mishandling of a Venezuelan naval incident, ended with a stunt where she “leaked” a fake Epstein file stamped with Mr. Trump’s golden seal.

Back in the studio, Mr. Kimmel joined Ms. Lydic via split-screen, and the pair traded barbs about the president’s sensitivity to satire. “He tried to cancel me once already this year — remember September?” Mr. Kimmel said, alluding to a brief suspension of his show following Federal Communications Commission threats over comments about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. “It backfired bigly. Ratings spiked 40 percent, and now he’s at it again. Quiet, piggy,” he added, mimicking Mr. Trump’s signature oink from a 2016 roast.

The backlash at Mar-a-Lago was swift and, according to witnesses, chaotic. Aides to the president, speaking on condition of anonymity, described a late-night meeting in the estate’s gilded ballroom devolving into shouts as Fox News clips of the episode played on loop. “It was like the Epstein files all over again — everyone pointing fingers, no one owning up,” one source said. Mr. Hegseth, the Fox News veteran tapped for a Pentagon role, reportedly stormed out after Ms. Lydic’s bit, tweeting a Franklin the Turtle meme of a helicopter assault on a boat — a nod to the Venezuelan strikes he authorized — with the caption: “Some leaks deserve a direct hit.” The post, viewed 500,000 times, drew mockery from late-night rivals like Stephen Colbert, who quipped on Thursday that “Pete’s war strategy is straight out of Nickelodeon.”

Mr. Trump’s intervention thrust the skirmish into a broader debate over free speech and media independence. The president has a history of targeting critics in Hollywood; in 2015, he canceled a “Kimmel” appearance citing a scheduling conflict, and during his first term, he pressured Disney, ABC’s parent company, to censor the host. This fall’s FCC dust-up, led by Trump appointee Brendan Carr, prompted ABC to suspend “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for a week in September, only for affiliates like Nexstar and Sinclair to reinstate it amid viewer outcry.

Legal experts warn that Mr. Trump’s latest call to action could invite fresh scrutiny. “This isn’t just bluster; it’s a pattern of jawboning that chills protected speech,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. The American Civil Liberties Union, which rallied over 400 celebrities — including Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks — against the September suspension, issued a statement Thursday condemning the “authoritarian playbook.” Democratic senators, including Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Maria Cantwell of Washington, have demanded hearings on Mr. Carr’s role, accusing the administration of weaponizing regulators.

Republicans, however, dismissed the uproar as liberal hypersensitivity. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a Fox News appearance, insisted the president was merely voicing “what every American thinks about failing ratings.” Mr. Trump’s allies, including Mr. Hegseth, amplified the narrative on social media, framing Mr. Kimmel as an elitist out of touch with “real America.”

Yet the numbers tell a different story. Nielsen data shows “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” averaging 2.1 million viewers per episode since its September return — a 25 percent jump from pre-suspension levels — buoyed by the controversy. ABC, which declined to comment on Mr. Trump’s post, has no plans to alter the show’s schedule, sources familiar with the matter said.

The episode underscores a deepening rift in American media, where late-night comedy has become a frontline in the culture wars. Mr. Kimmel, 57, has positioned himself as a reluctant warrior, blending personal anecdotes — like his son’s health struggles — with pointed political humor. “Comedy isn’t anti-American; silencing it is,” he said in his return monologue, echoing sentiments from peers like John Oliver and Trevor Noah.

As the dust settles, the Mar-a-Lago melee hints at fractures within Mr. Trump’s orbit. Reports of staff turnover, fueled by the Epstein scrutiny and cabinet confirmation battles, suggest the “chaos” Ms. Lydic lampooned may be more than satire. For now, Mr. Kimmel soldiers on, his band striking up “Sweet Caroline” as credits rolled Wednesday. In a final dig, he signed off: “See you tomorrow — unless the FCC says otherwise.”