Jimmy Kimmel marked his second episode back on Jimmy Kimmel Live! following a six-day absence, addressing both the ongoing ABC affiliate blackout and former President Donald Trump’s recent criticism of him.
The comedian noted that while the show has returned, it remains off the air in about 30 markets, including Seattle, Portland, Washington DC, Nashville, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Salt Lake City.
“If you are watching from one of those cities, please know that the person you are looking at right now is not me,” Kimmel quipped.
He then pivoted to Trump, who had blasted ABC for restoring Kimmel’s program.
Reading Trump’s comments aloud, Kimmel remarked, “Only Donald Trump would try to prove he wasn’t threatening ABC by threatening ABC.”
On Trump’s remarks about television ratings, Kimmel responded: “This was his big closer: ‘Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad ratings.’
He has some of the worst ratings any president has ever had. Welcome to the crappy ratings club.”
The late-night host also mocked Trump’s allies for defending his statements, singling out JD Vance, who said Trump’s comments were a joke.
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“They go to all these lengths to say it wasn’t coercion,” Kimmel said, “and then the second Trump is alone, he sits on the toilet, gets his grubby little thumbs on his phone, and immediately blows their excuses to smithereens.”
Kimmel expanded his critique, calling Trump “an old-fashioned ’80s movie bully” who takes lunch money, cookies, and even the note from a child’s lunchbox.
“It’s like rooting for Biff from Back to the Future. Donald Trump was literally the model for Biff,” he added.
Referencing Trump’s near stumble with Melania on an escalator at the United Nations, Kimmel mocked the online outrage: “Trump will not release the Epstein files, but we will be doing a thorough and complete investigation into who stopped his escalator.”
Kimmel balanced the pointed Trump jokes with lighter commentary, reading aloud text messages his staff received during the show’s blackout and joking about The Golden Bachelor.
He also thanked the more than 400 entertainers who signed an ACLU-backed letter supporting his return.
The episode reinforced Kimmel’s role as one of late-night TV’s most vocal Trump critics while keeping the ABC affiliate blackout in the spotlight.
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