President Donald Trump used a White House ceremony for the Kennedy Center Honors to renew his long-running feud with Jimmy Kimmel, joking that he should not be in office if he cannot outshine the late-night host as an emcee. Speaking in the Oval Office on Dec. 6 while presenting medals to this year’s honorees, Trump told reporters he had watched past hosts and declared, “Jimmy Kimmel was horrible,” before adding, “If I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don’t think I should be president.”
The remarks came on the eve of the 48th Kennedy Center Honors, which Trump hosted in a first for a sitting U.S. president after installing himself as chairman of the arts institution earlier this year. He has said he was “about 98 percent involved” in selecting this year’s honorees—Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, Kiss, Gloria Gaynor and Michael Crawford—underscoring how tightly he has tied the gala to his personal tastes and public image.
Trump’s comments extend a years-long clash with Kimmel, who has made the president a frequent punchline in monologues and award-show appearances. Trump has responded on social media by labeling Kimmel a “man with NO TALENT” with “VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS” and urging that the comedian be taken off the air, writing, “Get the bum off the air!!!” earlier this year. Kimmel has treated those posts as fodder, reading them aloud and mocking their late-night timing on his show.
The feud intensified in September, when ABC suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” for six days after Kimmel condemned reactions to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The pause followed public pressure from Trump administration officials and Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr, and drew sharp criticism from entertainers, civil liberties groups and legal scholars who argued that government threats against broadcasters raised serious free speech concerns.
Trump’s hosting role at the Kennedy Center has fed a wider debate over the cultural institution’s direction. After taking control of the board in February and overseeing a leadership purge, he has promoted renovations and claimed credit for record fundraising, while critics say the Honors weekend now reflects a politicized White House agenda and a narrower guest list from Hollywood. Supporters at this year’s gala cheered his jokes and introductions, while the Kimmel line signaled that Trump still sees late-night television as a central front in his fight with the media.
