President Donald Trump continues to attack late-night hosts, and they continue to hit back. It was Jimmy Kimmel‘s turn again today, and he opened the Thursday episode of his ABC show Jimmy Kimmel Live by responding to Trump’s 12:49 a.m. ET Truth Social post that asked “Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air?” and urged the network to “Get the bum off the air!!!”
Taking the latest threat in stride as part of his daily morning routine, Kimmel poked fun of Trump’s second-term-low approval ratings.
“He keeps saying we have bad ratings,” Kimmel said. “And you should listen to him – because if anyone knows about bad ratings – it’s that guy!”
Noting Trump post’s time stamp just minutes after the end of Jimmy Kimmel Live‘s telecast on the East Coast, he thanked the President for watching the show live on TV and addressed him directly.
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“You tried to get me fired in September. It didn’t work,” Kimmel said. “Mr. President – I admire your tenacity.”
In September, ABC pulled Kimmel off the air after Trump’s FCC chairman Brendan Carr warned stations over a joke the late-night host had made about the MAGA response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Following a backlash, Kimmel was reinstated.
“If you’re watching tonight – which I presume you are – how about this: I’ll go when you go,” Kimmel continued. “We’ll be a team. Let’s ride off into the sunset together – like Butch Cassidy and the Suntan Kid. And until then – if I may borrow a phrase from you… quiet, Piggy!”
Dominating headlines for the past couple of days, “Quiet, piggy” was how Trump addressed a Bloomberg reporter after she asked him about releasing the Epstein files, a topic that also dominated Kimmel’s Wednesday night monologue that was followed by Trump’s post.
As for Kimmel’s departure timeline, his contract is up at the end of this season, and it does not appear that he has made a final decision whether he would continue beyond that or not.
You can watch the full monologue, titled “Quiet, Piggy!,” below: