Jimmy Kimmel spends night after night covering stories about President Donald Trump that anger, confuse, and sadden the late-night host. But there was finally a story that the comedian considered to be some good news, and Kimmel eagerly shared it with his fans on Thursday night.
According to a new Economist/YouGov survey, President Trump’s approval rating has dropped to 34 percent. That stands out as the lowest mark of either of his terms in office. The poll also found that 59 percent of respondents strongly disapprove of the president, giving Trump a net approval rating lower than any point during former President Joe Biden’s presidency. Those numbers go against President Trump's long-running narrative that President Biden was the worst leader to ever occupy the White House.
Kimmel wasted no time turning the numbers into a punchline during his monologue.
“He is now down to 34 percent,” Kimmel told viewers. “He has the same approval rating as Paul Blart: Mall Cop.” Kimmel even had the Rotten Tomatoes score for the Kevin James comedy ready to go to hammer home his point. "The Blart of the Deal," he added.
Kimmel also delighted in another detail from the polling data. According to the survey, President Trump is now trailing Vice President JD Vance in approval ratings. In the past, Kimmel has taken plenty of opportunities to insult Vice President Vance and the Republican's lack of charisma. So the comedian must assume it stings that much more for Vance's boss.
“Not only is Trump at his lowest point, he’s also two points behind JD Vance,” Kimmel said. “I don’t have a joke for that. I just want to make sure he knows he’s two points behind JD Vance.”
Thursday’s monologue suggested Kimmel was especially amused by the idea that Trump is now polling below both a fictional mall cop movie and his own vice president. It's no secret that the president is famously obsessed with ratings, crowd sizes, and public perception. The late-night host framed the numbers as a kind of karmic punchline for a president who frequently boasts about how he's loved around the country and the world.
Plus, there's the fact that President Trump frequently attempts to insult Kimmel for his ratings. The president routinely brings up Jimmy Kimmel Live! viewership when calling for ABC to fire the late-night host.
We already knew that Americans had a more favorable view of Stephen Colbert. Now, these new poll numbers suggest that Jimmy Kimmel holds a higher rating among the public than Donald Trump. Between that and the JD Vance numbers, President Trump could be in for an angry weekend. Meanwhile, Kimmel gets to end his week with a smile.
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