Jimmy Kimmel has roasted Donald Trump while simultaneously acknowledging he was the reason he won Best Talk Show at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards.
Trump, 79, slammed Kimmel on Truth Social all of last year, questioning his talent, ratings, and calling him a “bum” who should be taken off air. The president has also been a regular fixture in Kimmel’s most savage monologues.
Their feud turned nuclear in September when Jimmy Kimmel Live! was briefly suspended after the Trump-appointed FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, threatened to revoke ABC’s broadcasting license if Kimmel were not held accountable for comments about the MAGA reaction to the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
After Kimmel’s show returned to air, he broke viewing records on YouTube and scored his second-highest TV ratings ever. “We couldn’t have done it without you, Mr President, so thank you very much,” the talk show host said at the time.
At the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday in Santa Monica, Kimmel gave Trump a back-handed compliment as well as a new middle name that is not his actual given one, ‘John’.
“And most of all, I want to thank our president, Donald Jennifer Trump, without whom we would be going home empty-handed tonight,” Kimmel, 58, said.
“So thank you, Mr. President, for all the many ridiculous things you do each and every day. It’s been a banner couple of weeks, and we can’t wait to get back on the air tomorrow night to talk about them.”
When reached for comment, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said: “Reacting to this would require me to waste my time watching it, and like many Americans who choose not to watch it, I have more entertaining things to do - like watch paint dry.”
Kimmel also used the first entertainment industry award show of 2026 to celebrate those in the industry who supported him and his show after the FCC’s intervention.
“Thanks to all the writers and actors and producers and union members. Many of you were in this room who supported us, who really stepped forward with us, and reminded us that we do not take free speech for granted in this city or in this country,” the host said on stage.
“Your actions are important, and we appreciate them.”
Kimmel beat out The Daily Show, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and YouTube’s Hot Ones for Best Talk Show.
It is the show’s 10th nomination and second win, following a victory in 2018.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! returns on Monday with guest Ben Affleck.
Kimmel’s latest comments follow him unleashing on Trump as part of British broadcaster Channel 4’s annual Alternative Christmas Message, where he said the president is “the guy who thinks he is our king.”
He said, “From a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year. Tyranny is booming over here.”
Kimmel also addressed having his show temporarily yanked off air, noting that Trump “would like to shut me up because I don’t adore him in the way he likes to be adored.”
The host said the suspension rallied millions of people who said it was not acceptable.
“People who never watched my show, people who were on record saying they hate my show spoke out, they marched, they did this all to support the right to a free expression of speech and because so many people spoke out, we came back,” he said.
“We won, the president lost and now I’m back on the air every night giving the most powerful politician on Earth a right and richly deserved bollocking.”
