After taking an extended break from Jimmy Kimmel Live, Jimmy Kimmel made his anticipated return on Sept. 3 to raucous applause from his audience and wasted no time in addressing the elephant in the room.
“I'm happy we still have a show too, I guess,” Kimmel joked at the top of his monologue in a nod to President Donald Trump’s many comments in recent weeks about Kimmel being next to go.
“What a weird summer. Can anything just be normal anymore? I tried to ignore the news, I tried to disconnect. It’s impossible; you can’t turn him off. He won’t power down. He’s like Ultron, he just keeps going. Every day it’s something crazier than the next,” Kimmel joked as he proceeded to read off a list of questionable actions taken by Trump during his time away from the show.
Following a series of jokes about Trump’s recent antics including the rumors of his death, Kimmel finally took aim at Trump’s comments suggesting he’s next to go following the cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Let’s just say, Kimmel didn’t back down.
“I guess that wasn’t enough for [Trump] because he posted, ‘The word is, and it’s a strong word at that, Jimmy Kimmel is next to go in the untalented Late Night sweepstakes.’ Which is alarming because Jimmy Kimmel is me,” Kimmel commented, referring to comments made by Trump in the immediate wake of Colbert’s cancellation.
Kimmel quickly took aim at Trump’s targeted attacks on him and his show and the motive behind his desire to see Jimmy Kimmel Live end.
“Oh, you delicate, chubby little teacup. Did we hurt your feelings? You want us to be canceled because we make jokes about you?” Kimmel quipped. He then proceeded to question when Trump became so “woke” when he’s been so against cancel culture in the past, adding, “I thought you were against cancel culture? When did you become so woke?”
He proceeded to make it clear he’s not going anywhere, using the segment to announce a return to Brooklyn for a week of shows in late September into early October. Or as he put it, “Unfortunately for Frosty the Snowflake, the only place we are going is to New York.”
Kimmel also took a moment to address reports that he was looking to flee the country to move to Italy, making it clear he has no intention at all of leaving the US. In fact, he’d rather move into Mar-a-Lago than leave the US behind because of Trump.
“Just to be clear, I’m not moving to Italy. I never said that. This is where I live, this is my country, I have no intention of running away from it, especially because of Donald Trump. Let me tell you something, I would move into Mar-a-Lago if I could just to drive him insane.”
It’s exciting to see Kimmel decide to dive into all of the biggest headlines and rumors from the weeks while he was away, as there was certainly a lot to cover. Kimmel definitely was on fire in his first episode back, and we’re certain this is just the beginning of what is sure to be a can’t-miss week of episodes!
You can watch Kimmel's full monologue below: