Jimmy Kimmel Seizes UN Escalator Moment to Roast Trump as Show Returns

Jimmy Kimmel used his first show back to poke fun at Donald Trump's United Nations escalator mishap. The 57-year-old host referenced the incident in an Instagram post on Friday, a day after his late-night program resumed airing following a brief hiatus tied to controversy. In the post, Kimmel's sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez stood near the top of an escalator, and Kimmel wrote, 'Headed to Brooklyn! Escalator is working great!' a line that echoed Trump's own account of the UN moment.

Trump and Melania attended the UN General Assembly on Tuesday; as they moved toward an upper level, the escalator reportedly halted. Trump later claimed on Truth Social that he had been the victim of 'triple sabotage' during the visit, describing it as an extraordinary misfortune and suggesting those involved should 'be arrested!' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt cited a Sunday Times report alleging UN staff joked about turning off escalators and elevators to prank the president.

On Tuesday, Trump told the UN audience that 'All I got from the United Nations was an escalator that, on the way up, stopped in the middle. If the first lady wasn't in great shape, she would have fallen. But she's in great shape. We're both in good shape. We both stood.' Trump also referenced the teleprompter issue and audio problems during his remarks.

Back in the late-night world, Kimmel's return coincided with the high-profile moment of his comeback: his opening monologue on YouTube drew roughly 22 million views, making it his most-watched posting since the show resumed.

Earlier, Kimmel's absence came after remarks about Charlie Kirk's assassination; he insinuated that the shooter, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, was Republican and that the MAGA movement was trying to score political points over Kirk's death. Kimmel later referenced those events in his Wednesday episode, quipping about a message from 'the mad red hatter' who claimed ABC Fake News had given Kimmel his job back, to which Kimmel replied, 'We're even.'

On Monday, Disney announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would return to ABC. The comeback had been derailed when ABC affiliates such as Sinclair and Nexstar indicated they would not air the show locally. Sinclair later said it would begin airing Kimmel Live! on all 38 ABC affiliates beginning Friday, while Nexstar said it would resume on its 32 ABC affiliates the same day; both affiliates stressed the decision was independent of government influence and framed it as a matter of journalistic judgment and free speech.