Jimmy Kimmel turned the tables on Donald Trump after the president suggested Rep. Ilhan Omar had herself sprayed with a substance during an attack at a town hall event in Minneapolis.
Omar was speaking at the Minneapolis event when a man sprayed her with what was later identified as apple cider vinegar. Rather than condemn the assault, Trump attacked the Democratic congresswoman from Minnesota.
Trump said Omar is a fraud and suggested Omar had herself sprayed, “knowing her.”
The host of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” seized on Trump’s comment during his monologue. Kimmel called out the president’s statement as ridiculous, then set up what he described as the easiest joke of all time.
Kimmel asked who’s spraying Trump, then displayed a photo of Trump’s bronzed face taken aboard Air Force One while en route to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland in September. The image, credited to Julia Demaree Nikhinson of the Associated Press, showed the president’s distinctive orange-tinted complexion.
The exchange comes amid a long-running feud between Trump and Kimmel that has intensified in recent months. Trump posted on Truth Social at 12:49 a.m., calling for Kimmel’s firing. Trump called Kimmel a bum with no talent, criticized Kimmel’s poor ratings, and said, “get the bum off the air.”
Kimmel responded to Trump’s late-night social media rant. The comedian thanked Trump for watching live rather than on YouTube, noting the president had posted just minutes after the show ended on the East Coast.
Kimmel said Trump watches him live instead of on YouTube and pointed out that Trump flips out every five weeks demanding his firing. Kimmel called Trump a snowflake and said he had lost count of how many times Trump has tried to get him removed from television.
The confrontation between Trump and Kimmel is part of a broader pattern of the president targeting late-night comedians. Trump urged NBC to fire Seth Meyers in recent weeks. The president’s attacks on television hosts have extended beyond late-night programs to include news correspondents and network executives.
During his monologue, Kimmel proposed he’ll go when Trump goes, suggesting they could ride off like Butch Cassidy and the Suntan (Sundance) Kid. The comedian’s wordplay referenced Trump’s distinctive appearance while invoking the classic Western film about outlaws on the run.
Kimmel ended his response by telling Trump, “quiet piggy.” The insult echoed words Trump had recently directed at a reporter when she attempted to ask a follow-up question during a media availability.
The monologue that appeared to trigger Trump’s latest outburst focused heavily on the Epstein files. Kimmel’s show discussed Jeffrey Epstein during the episode, addressing documents that have become a source of political controversy. The House voted 427-1 to release additional materials related to the case, representing one of the most lopsided votes in recent congressional history.
Over a month later, the Justice Department has still not released all the files.