Topline
President Donald Trump attacked ABC on Tuesday night for allowing late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to return to air and threatened legal action against the network, claiming that Kimmel acted as an arm of the Democratic Party, as the comedian took multiple shots at the president and his administration in his opening monologue during his return broadcast.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, made an hour before Kimmel returned to air, Trump wrote: “I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back.”
The president claimed the White House was informed that Kimmel’s show had been canceled, even though Disney told news outlets last week it was pausing the show “indefinitely.”
Trump suggested that “something happened” between last week and now that allowed Kimmel’s return as he claimed the comedian gets poor ratings and “puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE.”
The president then accused Kimmel of being “yet another arm” of the Democratic National Committee, without offering evidence, and suggested that airing his show “would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution.”
Trump then said he will test ABC and signaled that he intends to take the broadcaster to court on this matter.
“Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings,” Trump’s post added.
During his monologue on Tuesday, Kimmel showed a clip of the president telling reporters that the late-night show host was a “wack job” with “no talent” and ‘no ratings.” Kimmel quipped, “Well, I do tonight,” pointing to the increased interest in his show after him being taken off air and Trump’s attacks. The comedian then continued: “You almost have to feel sorry for him. He did his best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly. He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this now.”