Since Donald Trump took the political world by storm, talking about him has been a staple of virtually all of the late-night talk shows. Despite that, it has often seemed like Jimmy Kimmel Live! and the show's titular host have had a uniquely antagonistic relationship with the President. While most talk show hosts make a lot of jokes about Trump, it could easily be argued that none of Kimmel's peers have garnered as many responses from the President over the years.
Thanks to Trump and Kimmel often calling each other out, they have garnered many headlines, like when Trump's FCC chair had to deny "explicitly" trying to get Jimmy Kimmel Live! taken off the air. On top of that, Kimmel called out Trump's Rob Reiner Truth Social post, and he joked that the President might have a crush on him. After all that and so much more, Kimmel surprisingly thanked Trump when he recently won a Critics' Choice Award.
Why Jimmy Kimmel thanked Donald Trump after winning a Critics' Choice Award
On Jan. 4, 2026, the 31st Critics' Choice Awards were held in Santa Monica, California. During that ceremony, the winner of the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Talk Show was announced. Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Daily Show, and Hot Ones were all nominated but didn't win. Instead, Jimmy Kimmel Live! won the prestigious award.
When the winner of the award was announced, the talk show's host took to the stage to give an acceptance speech on behalf of everyone who helps make the show exist. As he spoke, Kimmel thanked his wife, Molly McNearney, who works on the talk show as its executive producer and co-head writer. He also stated that he was sharing the honor with the hosts and staff who produced the other talk shows that were nominated. In addition to those remarks that can typically be heard when someone gives an awards show acceptance speech, Kimmel also thanked Donald Trump for inspiring so many talk show jokes.
“Most of all, I want to thank our president, Donald Jennifer Trump, without whom we would be going home empty-handed tonight. So thank you, Mr. President, for all the many ridiculous things you do each and every day. 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."
Given the fact that Kimmel and Trump have been openly feuding for years now, the awards show acceptance speech shout-out seemed like a surprising move at face value. However, there is no denying that Trump has provided Kimmel and other talk show hosts with virtually endless fodder for the jokes they make. With that in mind and the fact that his comments were funny, Kimmel thanking Trump made a lot of sense.
Jimmy Kimmel Live airs weeknights at 11:35/10:35c on ABC.