Donald Trump Says He Doesn't Want an Apology from 'Lowlife' Jimmy Kimmel, Warns ABC Is in 'Great Jeopardy'
Donald Trump Says He Doesn't Want an Apology from 'Lowlife' Jimmy Kimmel, Warns ABC Is in 'Great Jeopardy'
Brenton BlanchetFri, May 1, 2026 at 3:20 PM UTC
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Donald Trump; Jimmy KimmelCredit: Andrew Harnik/Getty; Desiree Navarro/WireImage -
Donald Trump is once again calling for Jimmy Kimmel's firing
The president said in a recent interview that he considers the late-night host "a lowlife, whether he apologized or not"
"I don't understand how he can be on air," he said
Donald Trump is continuing his heated back-and-forth with Jimmy Kimmel, whom he is now calling a "lowlife" over recent remarks he made on air.
The president, 79, continued to fan the flames of his feud with the late-night host on Thursday, April 30 during an appearance on Newsmax's The Record with Greta Van Susteren.
It marked the third time since Monday, April 27 that Trump has demanded ABC take action against Jimmy Kimmel Live! after a joke Kimmel, 58, made days before about first lady Melania Trump.
While Kimmel has clarified that the comment — joking the first lady had "a glow like an expectant widow" — was intended as a "very light roast joke," he did say he was "sorry" that she and the president "went through" what they did when a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday, April 25.
During Trump's latest TV appearance, host Van Susteren asked the president if he accepted Kimmel's "apology." (Notably, Kimmel has not publicly apologized for Melania joke in question.)
"I haven't heard him apologize, but he's a lowlife whether he apologized or not," Trump said. "He's a lowlife. He always has been. He shouldn't be on television."
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Donald Trump; Jimmy KimmelCredit: Chris Jackson/Getty; Jesse Grant/Variety via Getty
Trump added, "I don't know how a guy could be on television, where the network has free airwaves from the United States government and spend 100% of his time knocking Republicans and conservatives and Trump. ... It's not supposed to work that way."
Trump then claimed Kimmel is "not a funny guy" and has "no ratings," adding, "I don't understand how he can be on air."
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"I think ABC is putting themselves in great jeopardy, actually. You know, they already paid me $16 million. George 'Slopadopolous' said things that were untrue. ... This is very serious what's going on there."
The president was referring to his previous lawsuit against ABC News and George Stephanopoulos, which resulted in the network paying a reported $15 million in charitable contributions to his presidential library. The legal action followed the journalist incorrectly stating that Trump was found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll during a March 2024 interview with South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace. Trump was actually found liable for sexual abuse, a different offense.
As for Kimmel, the late-night host has been on the receiving end of a couple Trump family social-media posts since the top of the week, after Melania, 56, claimed his Thursday, April 23 comments about her were "hateful and violent rhetoric." Trump later asked on Truth Social when "ABC Fake News Network" would fire the "seriously unfunny" comedian.
Kimmel insisted during his Monday, April 27 monologue that the jab was "obviously a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they're together."
"It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am," he said. "It was not by any stretch a call to assassination and they know that I've been very vocal for many years, speaking out against gun violence in particular."
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was previously pulled from the air in September 2025 after comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s death in a monologue. Kimmel eventually made his return to the airwaves six days later.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr has threatened to pursue action against ABC. Earlier this week Disney, which owns ABC, said in a statement to CNN, “ABC and its stations have a long record of operating in full compliance with FCC rules and serving their local communities with trusted news, emergency information and public‑interest programming.”
"We are confident that record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment and are prepared to show that through the appropriate legal channels,” the statement added. “Our focus remains, as always, on serving viewers in the local communities where our stations operate.”
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