Jimmy Kimmel and Donald Trump don’t seem to be holding anything back these days. Their back-and-forth jabs are heating up again, especially now with politics making waves in late-night TV.
On July 17, Stephen Colbert, who’s been hosting The Late Show, dropped the big news that his show was being canceled after more than 30 years. That hit fans hard.
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People immediately started wondering if politics had something to do with it. Just days before, Colbert had called out CBS’ parent company, Paramount, for cozying up to Trump and promising to put money into his future presidential library.
Trump says Kimmel might be next
Right after Colbert’s show got the axe, Trump wasted no time jumping in.
“I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!” he wrote on Truth Social.
He also took a dig at Jimmy Fallon, without naming him directly. He just called him “the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.”
Kimmel spends the day protesting instead
As all this was happening, Kimmel was actually on vacation with his family. Turns out, he spent that same day at an anti-Trump protest.
He posted a photo of the family on Instagram, all wearing anti-Trump shirts and holding signs. Some read “Don’t bend the knee,” “Make America Good Again,” and “I wish we had a better president!”
The caption said, “May every day be another wonderful secret.” That’s actually a line from a weird letter Trump supposedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The crowd reacts as Colbert breaks the news
When Colbert told his audience about the cancellation, they definitely weren’t happy. The announcement got boos during the taping.
He said he’d only just found out the night before that the show was ending. He looked pretty surprised, too.
Kimmel shows love for Colbert and calls out CBS
Kimmel posted a clip from Colbert’s show right after the announcement. He captioned it, “Love you Stephen.”
But he didn’t stop there. He took a swipe at the network behind the move and wrote, “F— you and all your Sheldons, CBS,” probably referencing the Big Bang Theory spinoffs.
Paramount’s Trump connection raises eyebrows
Some folks started asking questions about the timing.
Only three days earlier, Colbert had slammed Paramount for agreeing to pay Trump $16 million in a settlement. Trump had claimed 60 Minutes edited an interview with Kamala Harris to make her look better.
At the same time, Paramount was working on a merger deal with Skydance. That merger still needed Trump’s administration to approve it.
CBS says it’s just business, nothing political
CBS later made a statement trying to clear the air.
They said ending The Late Show had nothing to do with Colbert’s content, Trump, or Paramount drama. According to them, it was just a financial decision, plain and simple.
And even though the show had just gotten an Emmy nomination and topped its time slot, they said late-night is just a tough space right now.
Trump and Kimmel already had history
This wasn’t the first time Kimmel and Trump clashed.
Back in March, after hosting the Oscars, Kimmel read one of Trump’s reviews about his performance. Trump had posted it on Truth Social, and it wasn’t exactly flattering.
“Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars. His opening was that of a less than average person trying too hard to be something which he is not, and never can be,” Trump wrote.
Kimmel claps back during the Oscars
Kimmel saw the post and decided to respond on stage.
“Well, thank you, President Trump. Thank you for watching. I’m surprised, isn’t it past your jail time?” he said.
