Jimmy Kimmel taunts Trump with personal message as ratings surge

Jimmy Kimmel used his Thursday night monologue to give a personal response to President Donald Trump amid a spike in his ratings, following criticism from the president and a suspension earlier in the week. The late-night host, who was briefly suspended last week after comments about the suspect in the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, addressed the matter from his studio, framing the moment as a direct appeal to viewers rather than a political confrontation.

Returning audiences were not as strong as the show would normally expect, but the numbers climbed quickly. On Tuesday, after his return, Kimmel highlighted the record-setting momentum: although his program was preempted in about 60 American cities, he said the show posted its second-highest rating in nearly 23 years on the air, with approximately 6.3 million viewers and a monologue that racked up more than 21 million views on YouTube. "And I want to say we couldn't have done it without you, Mr. President," Kimmel added in a playful aside that acknowledged the ongoing public back-and-forth.

The public sparring drew attention beyond late-night circles. Earlier in the week, Trump had criticized the show’s return about an hour before it aired, railing against ABC for airing it and citing affiliates that chose not to carry the program. Trump asserted that Kimmel’s audience was shrinking, saying, "Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad ratings." Yet the numbers painted a different picture for the premiere and the surrounding days.

A second episode on Wednesday further illustrated the surge. It drew more than 7 million YouTube views, though this figure marked a decline from Tuesday’s peak, it remained well above the roughly 2 million views the segments typically accumulate. The weekend and weekday chatter around the show continued to elevate Kimmel’s profile among late-night audiences and political commentators alike. The exchange underscored how social-media attention and cross-channel visibility can amplify traditional television ratings, particularly when a high-profile figure publicly weighs in.

As the week progressed, observers noted that Kimmel’s content had become less about the entertainment spectacle and more about the broader conversation around media access, political rhetoric, and the so-called late-night ratings race. The host’s team framed the spike as evidence of audience engagement rather than a one-off anomaly, while Trump’s critics pointed to the president’s own public baiting of the program as a factor in the increased visibility. The dynamic offers a snapshot of how late-night television has navigated political discourse in an era of rapid digital circulation, where a single monologue can ripple across platforms and drive viewer interest.