Jimmy Kimmel has had enough of the hostility between him and Donald Trump and has offered the president the permanent truce Iran won’t give him.
Although Kimmel and the president have been at odds for over a decade at this point, tensions ramped up this week when both Trump and first lady Melania publicly called for Kimmel’s firing.
After a failed assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ dinner on Saturday, Melania and Trump were both apparently outraged by a joke Kimmel made about the first lady having a “glow” of an “expectant widow.”
Kimmel made the joke last Thursday, two days before the dinner, and he explained in his Monday monologue that it was merely a reference to the couple’s age gap.
Trump has maintained his stance that Kimmel’s joke was a “despicable call to violence,” and on Thursday morning, he once again called for his firing.
“When is ABC Fake News Network firing seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel, who incompetently presides over one of the Lowest Rated shows on Television? People are angry. It better be soon!!!” Trump wrote.
Kimmel responded in his Thursday monologue, “I think it might be time for us to figure this out.”
The late-night host offered to meet with the Trump administration to negotiate a deal:
“Here’s what I suggest,” Kimmel told Trump. “We don’t have to meet face-to-face. I know you’re busy. Send a delegation. Send JD Vance and Jared [Kushner].”
Kimmel continued, “Let’s see if we can come up with a ceasefire agreement. This could be good for both of us. I get to keep my job, you get to end your eleventh war. What do you say? We can help each other.”
As part of the ceasefire, Kimmel jokingly offered Trump a new promo clip for ABC to use for his show. The clip still promoted Kimmel, but it used Trump’s many insults of the late-night host from over the years to do it.
“It’s the seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel Live!“ the narrator announced. He soon referred to the host as ”total loser Jimmy Kimmel."
Since Trump and Melania’s call for Kimmel’s firing, the FCC appears to have been pressuring ABC on their behalf.
CNN media analyst Brian Stelter reported on Tuesday that the FCC will “call in all of the TV station licenses for Disney/ABC for early renewal.” Those licenses wouldn’t ordinarily be up for renewal until 2028.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez condemned the move in an MS NOW interview on Wednesday.
“What we saw today was the White House called for the silencing of a vocal critic and the FCC answered that call,” said Gomez.
