Jimmy Kimmel’s response to Republicans’ midterm losses came with a direct message to President Donald Trump: “Quit already! Just quit. Nobody wants you,” he said, according to Entertainment Weekly.
The host, 58, delivered the remarks during the November 4 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC. Democrats had won control of both the House and Senate in the previous day’s elections, the Associated Press reported.
Trump had argued on Truth Social that Republicans would have won decisively had he personally been on the ballot. Kimmel rejected that explanation, turning to the president’s involvement in choosing and promoting the party’s candidates.
The White House also posted a reminder that morning that Trump was still president. Kimmel displayed the message during his opening, according to Mediaite, before addressing the president’s criticism of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Fox News.
Kimmel Imagines an Island Retirement and a Change of Heart From JD Vance
Kimmel questioned whether Trump’s loyalty lay with the Republican Party or only with himself. He introduced the nickname “Nappy Gilmore,” a play on Happy Gilmore, after joking that the president led a slumber party of one, as TV Insider documented.
The host suggested Trump could leave politics and buy an island with cryptocurrency proceeds. He then proposed Jeffrey Epstein’s former island as the destination, turning his imagined retirement plan into another jab at the president.
Kimmel also anticipated the objection that a resignation would put Vice President JD Vance in charge. Contrasting Vance’s earlier hostility toward Trump with his later enthusiastic support, the comedian suggested that someone who had changed his position so dramatically could change it again.
Kimmel Points to the Candidates Trump Supported
Earlier in the monologue, Kimmel singled out Trump’s backing of Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate race and Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio’s governor’s race. He also cited Vance’s departure from the Senate as part of his argument about the Republicans’ loss of that Ohio seat.
The audience cheered when Kimmel told Trump to stop making excuses. He later compared the president’s presence throughout Republican politics to something impossible to avoid: “You’re like dog hair. You’re on everything,” he said, according to TheWrap.
During the campaign, Trump had repeatedly urged supporters to vote as though he were on the ballot, AP reported. Kimmel also thanked Republican voters who had previously supported the president but chose Democrats this time, acknowledging that changing one’s mind could be difficult.
The White House Responded to Kimmel’s Election Night Show
On Election Night, Kimmel had contrasted concerns about inflation, housing and health care with Trump’s attention to subjects such as the White House ballroom and reflecting pool. The segment followed the results as they arrived, rather than the president’s subsequent explanations.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle called Kimmel a “no-talent loser,” Fox News reported November 4. Kimmel addressed the administration’s statement during the following evening’s monologue.
The November 3 broadcast also featured Pod Save America hosts Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor, who discussed the results and the next two years of Trump’s presidency. ABC‘s archive lists Miles Teller and Timothy Simons as the guests on November 4.