It is no secret that Jimmy Kimmel has been a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump for years. They have been involved in an ongoing feud for a long time now. Trump took to Truth Social Wednesday to attack Jimmy Kimmel, calling him “stupid” and slamming his performance as host of the 96th Academy Awards, after the late night talk show host mocked Trump’s “hush money” trial.
Kimmel began “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Tuesday by saying it was “another Stormy day in New York” about the second day of the former president’s first criminal trial, later discussing prosecutors’ wish to hold Trump in contempt for alleged violations of a gag order from Judge Juan Merchan, saying: “For that, Trump would be fined $1,000 per offense, that should stop him.”
It has been noted that the late night talk show host continued to poke fun about the alleged gag order violations, saying: “Ebenezer Snooze was up bright and early today mashing those little fingers on his phone, lashing out at the judge”—then reading a Tuesday Truth Social post from Trump slamming Merchan.
Kimmel also took shots at other elements of the trial, including Trump allegedly falling asleep, his post about missing his son Barron’s graduation—which Merchan has yet to rule on—and the dwindling shares of Trump Media and Technology Group.
In response to Kimmel’s remarks—though he did not specifically reference the episode—Trump began Wednesday’s post with “Stupid Jimmy Kimmel,” going on to say the late night talk show host “still hasn’t recovered from his horrendous performance and big ratings drop as Host of The Academy Awards”—this year’s ceremony brought in 19.5 million viewers, a four-year high for the program.
The former president added Kimmel showed he “suffered from TDS, commonly known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME,” referring to Kimmel reading a Truth Social post from Trump during the Academy Awards ceremony that slammed Kimmel’s hosting.
Trump stated that Kimmel’s wife and management told him not to read the post, saying: “‘DON’T READ HIS TRUTH, JIMMY, PLEASE DON’T DO THIS,’ they said”—Kimmel has reportedly said he was told not to and his wife, Molly McNearney, reportedly confirmed she advised against it—but Trump’s seemingly exaggerated claim does not align with what either said happened.
“Another Stormy day in New York in the new episode of ‘The Orange People’s Court’ today starring Donald J. Trump as the defendant in his first of many criminal trials to come,” Kimmel said. “We have a lot to look forward to.”
