After Donald Trump celebrated his suspension, Jimmy Kimmel returned to his show and took direct punches at the president.
On Tuesday night, September 23, the comedian on Jimmy Kimmel Live! didn’t hold back from cracking more jokes that made fun of Trump.s
After delving into the subject of Charlie Kirk and the conservatives’ responses to his murder, Kimmel was previously suspended for less than a week.
This includes playing snippets of Trump that seemed to avoid discussing the right-wing activist in favor of his remodeling proposals.
The next day, ABC announced that Kimmel’s show would be “pre-empted indefinitely.” While many, like Trump, were happy about this, others referred to it as an attack on free expression.
Kimmel didn’t hold back from making fun of the US president in his first opening line after coming back on screen.
Speaking about Trump, he said: “You almost have to feel sorry for him, he tried his best to cancel me and instead he forced millions of people to watch the show.”
Kimmel continued: “The president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can’t take a joke.”
“One thing I did learn from Lenny Bruce and George Carlin and Howard Stern, is that a government threat to silence a comedian the president doesn’t like is anti-American.”
On a more somber note, the TV host responded to people who criticized his seeming empathy when discussing Kirk.
While holding back tears, he said: “I want to make something clear because it is important to me as a human and that is that it was never my intention to make light of a murder of a young man.”
“I don’t think there is anything funny about it, I posted a message on Instagram on the day he was killed sending love to his family and asking for compassion and I meant it and I still do.”
Kimmel also discussed remarks made by Erika, Kirk’s widow, during his memorial service on Sunday, September 21.
“Erika Kirk forgave the man who shot her husband,” he noted. “That is an example we should follow.”
“It touched me deeply,” Kimmel went on to add. “And if there’s anything we should take from this tragedy to carry forward, I hope it can be that, not this.”
In a separate statement to Kimmel and ABC, Trump said that he didn’t understand the show’s comeback.
Writing on Truth Social on Tuesday night, he said: “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back.”
“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.”
“I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative.”
This appeared to be a reference to the agreement he reached with ABC in the defamation case that Trump brought against the network last year.
