Jimmy Kimmel tells Trump ‘I’ll go when you go’ after president’s ‘disturbing’ demand

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Late-night host addressed Trump’s continued attempts to get him fired in punchy monologue

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Jimmy Kimmel has given Donald Trump an ultimatum after the president once again demanded that his late-night show be axed.

The US host, whose series Jimmy Kimmel Live! was temporarily suspended earlier this year, said he had lost count of how many times Trump had said he should be pulled off the air – and branded his attempts “disturbing”.

After Trump’s latest tirade against Kimmel, the host suggested an idea during Thursday’s episode (20 November): “If you’re watching tonight, which I presume you are, how about this: I’ll go when you go, OK?”

He continued: “We’ll be a team. Let’s ride off into the sunset together like Butch Cassidy and the Suntan Kid. And until then, if I may borrow a phrase from you: ‘Quiet, piggy’”.

Kimmel was referencing a quote made by Trump in a video showing the president scolding a female journalist aboard Air Force One earlier this week.

On his show, Kimmel reflected on discovering Trump had launched yet another rant in his direction.

“I woke up this morning, I’m in bed. My wife comes out of the bathroom. She’s got her phone. She goes, ‘Um, Trump tweeted you should be fired again.’ I was like, ‘Oh.’ And then I went downstairs and made bagels for the kids.”

He added: “Every five weeks, he flips out and wants me fired. If you got this many threats from a neighbour, you’d have no problem getting a restraining order. The judge would be like, ‘Yeah, sounds like the guy’s nuts.’”

Kimmel said he admires Trump’s tenacity in trying to get him fired, but suggested he should give up: “You tried to get me fired in September. It didn’t work.”

He also highlighted that the president keeps referring to the late-night show’s poor ratings, before introducing a montage of news reports covering Trump’s plummeting poll numbers.

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“He keeps saying we have bad ratings. And you should listen to him, because if anyone knows about bad ratings, it’s that guy,” Kimmel said.

In September, ABC announced it had suspended Kimmel’s late-night show “indefinitely” after the host’s comments about the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The move comes after Kimmel said on his show: “We had some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it.”

Trump quickly took to social media to gloat over Kimmel’s situation. “Great News for America: The ratings-challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” he posted on Truth Social.

Kimmel returned to screens the following week and emotionally told viewers: “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man”.

His opening monologue garnered more than 13 million views on YouTube, and 5.7 million views on Instagram in less than a day.

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