what was jimmy kimmel's comment

Jimmy Kimmel’s most talked‑about recent comment was a sarcastic “thank you” to President Donald Trump during his 2026 Critics Choice Awards acceptance speech for Best Talk Show, framing Trump as the reason he and his writers have so much material to work with.

Quick Scoop

What Jimmy Kimmel Said

At the 2026 Critics Choice Awards, Kimmel mixed gratitude with sharp political humor.

• He joked that a “FIFA Peace Prize” would have been better than the award he received, riffing on Trump having just been given a high‑profile peace‑style honor linked to the World Cup and the Kennedy Center.

• He then delivered the line that set social media buzzing:

“Most of all, I want to thank our president, Donald Jennifer Trump. Without him, we’d be going home empty‑handed tonight.”

• He followed that by thanking Trump “for the countless absurd things” he does every day, making it clear the “thanks” was a dig at how much comedy material Trump provides.

In short, the headline‑making “comment” was that sarcastic thank‑you to Trump, casting the president as both antagonist and inadvertent content generator for his show.

Why It Hit Headlines

Kimmel’s jab didn’t happen in a vacuum; it landed after a turbulent stretch for his show and for politics.

• His late‑night show had been briefly suspended in 2025 following backlash over comments he made about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, which triggered political pressure and licensing threats against ABC.

• Trump had publicly attacked Kimmel and other late‑night hosts, suggesting networks should take them off the air, turning them into recurring political targets.

• The Critics Choice moment doubled as a comeback beat: Kimmel framed his win as partly the result of that political friction, implying that Trump’s actions and controversies literally helped him win awards by feeding jokes and monologues.

Because of that backdrop, the sarcastic “thank you, Mr. President” read less like a throwaway gag and more like a pointed statement about free speech, political pressure on media, and how comedy survives in a tense climate.

Related Recent Comment (More Serious Tone)

For context, Kimmel also recently delivered a very emotional monologue about the fatal shooting of Minneapolis ICU nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents, where he dropped most of the jokes and spoke in a somber, outraged tone.

• He described watching videos of Americans being dragged from cars or separated from families and called the agents involved “goons perpetrating despicable, inhumane, even criminal acts.”

• He questioned whether this is the “law and order” people voted for, asked if anyone believes this is good governance, and argued that only people on the political right have the power to stop it.

• He urged viewers to watch the footage and speak out, saying “this has to stop” and calling for “new leaders” if current ones keep stoking fear and violence.

That speech shows the other side of his recent “comments”: awards‑show sarcasm in one setting, and a raw, almost activist tone in response to a specific killing and broader federal crackdowns in another.

TL;DR

• The viral Jimmy Kimmel comment people are asking about right now is his sarcastic “thank you” to President Donald Trump at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards, saying they’d be going home empty‑handed without him.

• It landed hard because it followed his show’s 2025 suspension and Trump’s attacks on late‑night hosts, so the joke doubled as a dig at political pressure on his program.

• In the same broader news cycle, he also gave a serious monologue condemning the killing of nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents, calling the perpetrators “goons” and urging viewers—especially conservatives—to speak out and demand better leadership.

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