Jimmy Kimmel appealed Donald Trump right during his monologue on Thursday, after the president called on ABC to fire the host (again) for his “Social Truth” rant.
“My wife comes out of the bathroom. She has a phone. She says, 'Trump tweeted, you should be fired again,'” Kimmel said. “I thought, 'Oh.' Then I went downstairs and made the kids bagels.” The host read the president's social media post to the audience, then asked, “Am I a slacker?” He continued: “He posted this at 12:49 a.m. – 11 minutes after the show ended on the East Coast. And it's nice. He's watching us live. Hello, Mr. President! Thank you for watching us on TV and not on YouTube. We appreciate it. Ironically, it's viewers like you who keep us on the air.”
“Honestly, I’ve lost count of the number of times the president has demanded I be taken off the air,” he continued. “By the way, this guy is a snowflake. Every five weeks he loses his temper and wants me fired.”
“You've done this before. You tried to get me fired in September, but it didn't work, Mr. President,” Kimmel said before making an offer to Trump. “How about this: I'll go when you leave, okay? We'll be a team. Let's ride off into the sunset together, like Butch Cassidy and the Tan Kid.”
He ended his message to the president with the words: “In the meantime, if I may, I’ll borrow a phrase from you: be quiet, little pig.”
Trump renewed his call for Kimmel to be taken off air after the host detailed the president's ongoing crisis over Jeffrey Epstein files. Trump signed legislation Wednesday directing the Justice Department to release records of a deceased convicted sex offender, despite his efforts to kill the bill. The president appeared increasingly nervous when the topic was raised, and last week he told an Air Force One reporter, “Quiet, piggy,” when she asked him about his ties to Epstein.
“The Department of Justice has 30 days to release the files, which will be a very Merry Christmas indeed,” Kimmel joked Thursday night. “I have a prediction for the next 30 days: I think we're going to see Trump do one of the craziest things.”
