Jimmy Kimmel responds to President Trump’s renewed calls for his firing

Jimmy Kimmel has responded to U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest call for him to be taken off the TV.

During his opening monologue on Thursday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the late-night TV host addressed the president’s recent Truth Social post, in which he labelled him a man with “no talent” and “very poor” ratings and called on ABC News to “get the bum off the air”.

“I have honestly lost count of how many times the President has demanded I be pulled off the air. Talk about a snowflake, this guy, every five weeks he flips out and wants me fired,” he joked. “You’ve done this before. You tried to get me fired in September. It didn’t work. Mr. President – I admire your tenacity.”

In September, Kimmel was pulled off the air indefinitely over his joke about Trump supporters’ response to the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Following a backlash, Kimmel was reinstated the following week.

He continued in his monologue, “If you’re watching tonight – which I presume you are – how about this: I’ll go when you go. 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!”

Trump hit headlines this week when he told a female reporter, “Quiet, piggy,” after she asked him about releasing the files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which he has since agreed to do.

Kimmel also noted that the politician posted his message on Truth Social 11 minutes after Wednesday’s episode aired on America’s East Coast and suggested that perhaps he was watching the show live.

Regarding Trump’s comment about ratings, the comedian said, “He keeps saying we have bad ratings. And you should listen to him – because if anyone knows about bad ratings – it’s that guy!”

Kimmel’s remark was then followed by a montage of news reports about Trump’s 38% approval rating, the lowest of his second term.