Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert joined forces Tuesday to roast Donald Trump, coining a new, less-than-flattering nickname for the president during a rare, late-night show crossover event.
Los Angeles-based Kimmel has brought his live show to Brooklyn, New York, for the week, which he opened Tuesday by calling the “show the FCC doesn’t want you to see.”
Also on Tuesday, a pre-taped interview with Kimmel aired on Colbert’s The Late Show. It was his first sit-down interview since Jimmy Kimmel Live! was suspended — then reinstated — by ABC over on-air comments related to the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk last month.
“I am so honored to be here with my fellow no-talent, late-night loser,” Kimmel joked, referring to the flurry of insults that Trump has hurled at both him and Colbert.
After Kimmel acknowledged the outpouring of support he received when his show was taken off-air, Colbert asked if he ever thought an American president would be “celebrating” his unemployment, prompting loud booing from the audience.
“I mean, that son of a b*tch, you know?” Kimmel joked.
“Mr. Son of a B*tch,” Colbert added.
“His royal –” Kimmel quipped.
“Yes,” Colbert said, nodding.
Kimmel continued: “No, I never thought we would have a president like this, and I hope we don’t have another president like this. I never even imagined there would be a situation in which the president of our country was celebrating hundreds of Americans losing their jobs, somebody who took pleasure in that.
“That, to me, is the absolute opposite of what a leader of this country is supposed to be,” he added, to cheers and applause from the audience.
Kimmel got into hot water last month after accusing MAGA Republicans of using the assassination of Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist, to “score political points.”
During Kimmel’s live show at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Tuesday, Seth Meyers made an appearance, along with his brother, the actor and comedian Josh Meyers, who parodied California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Trump has publicly celebrated Kimmel’s temporary suspension, and the impending cancellation of Colbert’s show by CBS. The Independent previously reported that CBS staffers aren’t buying the network’s claims that the cancellation of Colbert’s show was purely a “financial decision,” but rather a continuation of the “Trump shakedown” that began with parent company Paramount’s settlement of the 60 Minutes lawsuit, according to multiple sources.
Trump has also praised ABC’s decision to put Jimmy Kimmel Live! on hiatus, writing on Truth Social at the time: “Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED.”
“Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible,” Trump wrote. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJ,” the president added.
Trump’s celebrations were short lived, and he went on to criticize ABC when the network announced it would resume airing Kimmel’s show.
“I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his ‘talent’ was never there.”
A long list of political figures and celebrities, including former President Barack Obama — condemned Kimmel’s suspension as an attack on free speech. More than 400 Hollywood figures signed an open letter against his suspension while protests were held outside of Kimmel’s Hollywood studio.
On Tuesday, Meyers, Colbert and Kimmel posted a photo of them together on social media, with the caption: “Hi Donald.”
