Kimmel Returns, Calls Trump an '80s-Movie-Style Bully' on Second Night Back
After a six-day suspension, the late-night host taunts Trump and grapples with affiliate preemptions as his ABC program returns to a fractured national schedule.
Jimmy Kimmel returned for his second show back from a six-day suspension, taunting MAGA critics and blasting President Donald Trump as an '80s-movie-style bully' over threats to sue ABC for reinstating Kimmel on the air. In the opening, he noted that the program remained off in large swaths of the country, with Nexstar and Sinclair stations continuing to preempt 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' in dozens of markets. He then posted a graphic on the screen showing Trump’s Truth Social post threatening to sue ABC, ridiculing the claim that he was not threatening ABC and quipping that Trump has 'bad ratings' and welcoming him to the 'crappy ratings club' on behalf of the audience.
Despite the ongoing preemptions, the comeback drew a robust audience. ABC said the episode reached roughly 6.26 million broadcast viewers, the best regularly scheduled late-night episode in about a decade, with tens of millions more views on YouTube and other platforms. Kimmel leaned into the moment with a riff that mocked Trump’s own taunts about ratings, joking that the president "does know bad ratings" and welcoming him to the now-infamous 'crappy ratings club'.
The host also pressed the censorship debate, telling viewers that staffers were fielding panicked texts about losing their jobs and mocking conservative media claims that he wields 'dirt on everyone in the industry.' He returned to a running gag casting Trump as a schoolyard tormentor, saying backing the president is like "rooting for Biff from Back to the Future." He also teased an awkward United Nations moment in which Trump allegedly inflated a minor escalator mishap into a federal case.
Kimmel’s reinstatement followed an uproar over remarks about the political affiliations of the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The backlash included threats and what FCC Chairman Brendan Carr described as 'jawboning'—public statements intended to influence behavior rather than formal regulatory action—that Carr suggested could threaten ABC affiliates’ licenses if the show continued to air. Carr later tried to downplay his role, while Vice President JD Vance insisted Carr was joking. Kimmel’s monologue underscored the broader debate over censorship, political influence, and the limits of late-night satire.
The affiliate revolt hardened this week. Nexstar said it would keep preempting Kimmel while it monitors the program’s content. Sinclair has also stayed dark, with some of its stations previously demanding an apology and a donation to Charlie Kirk’s family and nonprofit before resuming carriage. As a result, Kimmel is performing to a national audience that is roughly 23% smaller than usual. Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, told The Washington Post that responding to Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue would require watching it, and that there are more productive things to do—like watching paint dry. The Post has sought comment from Disney.
