Jimmy Kimmel fired back at Donald Trump’s newest threat against late-night comedy with a sharp jab towards the president’s cankles.
The 79-year-old president gloated in a Truth Social post on Monday about the cancellation of “REALLY DUMB” late-night comedian Stephen Colbert, who aired his final show on May 22.
Trump also bashed “Low Ratings Bill Maher,” and implied that “three more limping Late Night Talk Show Hosts” would soon see their shows canceled too.
Trump’s post didn’t explicitly mention Kimmel, but Kimmel is likely one of the “limping” hosts Trump had in mind. Trump has long expressed his dislike of Kimmel; in April he called one of Kimmel’s jokes a “despicable call to violence” and called for him to be “immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
In his Tuesday monologue, Kimmel responded to Trump’s “limping” jab with a return roast:
“I’m not sure I’d be calling us ‘limping’ when you got cankles like this, honey,“ Kimmel said, showing a picture of Trump’s swollen ankles. ”Because... look at that.”
“It’s like they put a shoe on a balloon animal made out of sausage links,” Kimmel joked.
According to White House doctors, Trump’s oft-spotted swollen ankles are likely the result of his suffering from chronic venous insufficiency. Trump’s cankles, along with his constantly bruised hands, have long sparked concerns about the president’s health throughout his second term.
The Daily Beast was one of the first publications to consistently cover Trump’s bruised hands and swollen ankles. The site’s coverage spans back to July 2025 when the White House revealed Trump’s cankles had sparked an emergency medical evaluation.
Kimmel nicknamed Trump “Captain Cankleroo” and zeroed in on Trump’s manic Truth Social habits.
Quoting from a Daily Beast article tracking Trump’s social media output, Kimmel noted, “Trump posted on Truth Social 861 times [in May], an average of 27 times a day. I don’t know anyone who does anything 27 times a day.”
Kimmel couldn’t explain why Trump posts so much, but he did have a theory on why Trump was so mad about late-night on Monday:
“[Trump] might be upset because our show won a Peabody Award on Sunday,” Kimmel said.
Referencing the many fake awards leaders have flattered Trump with throughout his second term, Kimmel added, “And it wasn’t a FIFA Peabody, it was a real one.”
While accepting his Peabody Award on Sunday, Kimmel delivered a defiant anti-Trump speech.
“Making jokes about the president in America shouldn’t win you a prize,” he said. “We have the right, guaranteed by the Constitution, to criticize and satirize our leaders.”
Kimmel, who had his show briefly pulled from the air in September after the Trump administration appeared to threaten his network, used his award speech to thank those who protested to bring his show back.
“You sent a message that we do care,” Kimmel said, “And we stand up and we will not stand by when comedy and journalism and dissent are censored and regulated and criminalized.”
