US chat show host Jimmy Kimmel launched an attack on President Donald Trump on British television, months after the comedian’s late-night show was taken off air.
In Channel 4’s Alternative Christmas Message, the 58-year-old warned that “fascism” and “tyranny” are “booming” in the United States under the Trump administration, and apologised to the British public.
“I can tell you that, from a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year,” he said.
“Tyranny is booming over here. You may have read in your colourful newspapers, my country’s president would like to shut me up because I don’t adore him in the way he likes to be adored.”
Kimmel’s show Jimmy Kimmel Live! was “indefinitely” suspended on 17 September after on-air comments about the killing of Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk. It had been running for over 20 years, first airing in 2003.
The move to pull the programme sparked widespread backlash, protests and public debate about free speech, leading to it being reinstated days later.
“All of a sudden we were off the air,” he explained, describing the saga. “Millions and millions of people stood up and said: ‘No, this is not acceptable.’”
He said: “We won…. and now I’m back on the air every night giving the most powerful politician on earth a right and richly deserved b******ing,” said Kimmel.
Mr Trump has previously said the show was pulled due to poor ratings, adding that the presenter was “fired for lack of talent”. He reinforced the message by reiterating Kimmel had “ZERO talent” and the suspension of his show as “great news for America”.
In his Christmas address, Kimmel likened Trump’s style of government leadership to Russia and North Korea for “silencing its critics”.
“The reason I’m telling you this story is because maybe you’re thinking: ‘Oh a government silencing its critics is something that happens in places like Russia, or North Korea, or LA, not the UK’,” he explained.
“Well, that’s what we thought and now we’ve got King Donny the Eighth calling for executions. It happens fast.”
He expressed concern for his country and issued an apology to Brits affected by the political climate across the pond. On Christmas Eve, the Trump administration banned two British free speech campaigners from the US, calling them “radical activists”.
“Here in the United States right now we are both figuratively and literally tearing down the structures of our democracy,” Kimmel continued.
“From the free press, to science, to medicine, to judicial independence, to the actual White House itself, we are a right mess.
“And we know this is also affecting you, and I just wanted to say sorry. And we want you to know or, at least I want you to know, that we’re not all like him. We’re not all like that.”
