Jimmy Kimmel thanks 'Donald Jennifer Trump' for his Critics Choice Best Talk Show win
- - Jimmy Kimmel thanks 'Donald Jennifer Trump' for his Critics Choice Best Talk Show win
Ryan ColemanJanuary 5, 2026 at 3:33 AM
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Kevin Winter/Getty
Jimmy Kimmel at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 4
Jimmy Kimmel's foot remains squarely planted on Donald Trump's neck.
The longtime host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which ABC temporarily pulled from air in September after months of threats and insinuations by the president, addressed Trump directly from the stage of the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday, after winning for Best Talk Show.
"A FIFA Peace Prize would have been better, but this is nice, too," Kimmel snarked, referring to the international soccer association's president and a self-professed friend of Trump's, Gianni Infantino, inventing an award to give him at a ceremony last month.
Kimmel proceeded to thank his wife, Molly McNearney, Kimmel Live's producers, and the annual ceremony's voting body, before turning his attention to the most special recipient of his gratitude.
"Most of all, I want to thank our President, Donald Jennifer Trump, without whom we would be going home empty-handed tonight," Kimmel said.
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty;Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
Jimmy Kimmel and Donald Trump
"Thank you, Mr. President, for all the many ridiculous things you do each and every day," Kimmel continued, riding a wave of raucous applause. "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. Thank you, everyone."
Kimmel also took time to shout out his colleagues in late-night, all of whom have had their own dust-ups with the famously antagonistic commander-in-chief, himself a former TV host.
"We share this award with our colleagues in late night, our fellow nominees who did not care enough to be here with you tonight," Kimmel joked. "Thanks to all the writers and actors and producers and union members, many of you who are in this room, who supported us, who really stepped forward and reminded us that we do not take free speech for granted in this city or in this country. Your actions were important. We appreciate that."
Jimmy Kimmel Live was first pulled from air on Sept. 17 over a set of controversial comments Kimmel made regarding the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk days earlier. The program was reinstated nearly a week later, though two broadcast groups (Nexstar and Sinclair) decided to maintain their preemption in several territories.
Kimmel and Trump have long shared an adversarial relationship, extending back to the very beginning of his first term in office in 2016. The suspension also came on the heels of CBS canceling The Late Show in July after 33 years on the air. While the network explained away the decision as purely financial, critics, including Colbert himself, insinuated the decision was motivated by CBS parent company Paramount's planned merger with Skydance Media, which would need Trump's FTC approval.
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Trump himself celebrated the decision at the time, writing on Truth Social, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired."
The president also signaled in the same post, "I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next."
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
