OAN Staff Cory Hawkins
6:20 PM – Monday, January 5, 2026
While accepting his Critics Choice award for Best Talk Show, liberal late night host Jimmy Kimmel fixated on Donald Trump, thanking the president for helping secure his win and referring to him as “Donald Jennifer Trump.”
“And most of all, I want to thank our president, Donald Jennifer Trump, without whom we would be going home empty-handed tonight,” Kimmel said during Sunday’s live broadcast. “So thank you, Mr. President, for all the many ridiculous things you do each and every day.”
Following his victory, Kimmel talked to reporters where he described being pulled off of television as a “near-death experience.” He went on to compare it to “Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn watching their own funeral.”
Kimmel’s show was suspended indefinitely by ABC back in September 2025 over comments he made regarding the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. In his monologues following the tragedy, Kimmel criticized conservatives’ response to Kirk’s death, accusing MAGA supporters of politicizing the tragedy and “attempting to deflect blame.” He also mocked President Trump’s and Vice President JD Vance’s responses, comparing Trump’s grief to that of a child while questioning the FBI’s investigation.
“We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel stated. “In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving.”
The suspension was partly spurred by broadcast affiliates Nexstar and Sinclair, who refused to air the talk show in their respective markets. Nexstar said Kimmel’s comments were “offensive and insensitive at a critical time in our national political discourse” and mentioned it would like to “move toward the resumption of respectful, constructive dialogue.”
However, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” was reinstated and returned to the air just a few days later. In his first monologue back, Kimmel explained that his comments were “misconstrued.”
“It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.”
“I don’t think there’s anything funny about it,” Kimmel continued. “I posted a message on Instagram the day he was killed, sending love to his family, and asking for compassion, and I meant it. I still do.”
Since returning to television, Kimmel has continued to skewer Trump and plans on continuing to do so when he returns to the air after his holiday break on Monday night.
“It’s been a banner couple of weeks, and we can’t wait to get back on the air tomorrow night to talk about them,” Kimmel added.
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