Jimmy Kimmel has been in the news lately for several different on-air remarks: most recently his jokes about President Donald Trump at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards, and earlier, highly controversial comments around the Charlie Kirk shooting and an ICE-related incident in Minneapolis.

What this post covers

  • What Kimmel said most recently that’s trending
  • The earlier controversial comments that got him suspended
  • How fans, critics, and networks are reacting
  • Why people keep asking “Kimmel, what did he say?”

Latest viral moment: Critics Choice joke

At the 2026 Critics Choice Awards on 4 January, Kimmel accepted the Best Talk Show award and immediately took a shot at President Donald Trump.

  • He joked that “a FIFA Peace Prize would have been better” than the award he received, referencing the new FIFA Peace Prize that had recently been given to Trump at a World Cup event.
  • He then mockingly thanked “our president, Donald Jennifer Trump,” saying that without Trump he and his writers would have no end of material, implying Trump’s behavior fuels the show’s comedy.

These lines are what many people are quoting and clipping when they ask “what did he say?” in relation to the awards show.

Holiday recap monologue: more Trump material

Around the same time, Kimmel did a long monologue recapping Trump’s behavior over the holidays, which also fed the “what did he say” buzz.

  • He ran through a list of Trump actions over about two weeks, including hosting a very low-rated Kennedy Center Honors broadcast, posting hundreds of times on Truth Social, and bringing Vanilla Ice to a Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve event.
  • Kimmel framed it as so over-the-top that it would need “a nine-part Ken Burns documentary” to cover everything, a line that has circulated widely in clips and social posts.

This segment reinforced his image as one of Trump’s sharpest late-night critics and added fuel to ongoing culture-war debates.

The ICE shooting segment and backlash

Another reason “kimmel what did he say” is trending is a separate controversy about his remarks following an ICE shooting in Minneapolis.

  • In a January 2026 episode, Kimmel covered a story where an ICE agent shot and killed an unarmed woman in Minneapolis during an operation, criticizing the brutality and tying it to Trump-era enforcement.
  • Right-wing commentators and some YouTube pundits have claimed his “ICE shooting comments” and a skit involving mocking both ICE and Trump hurt his ratings and angered parts of the audience.

One YouTube channel, for instance, framed it as a “ratings disaster” and claimed Kimmel talked about plans to leave the country amid the backlash, quoting him as saying it had become clear the U.S. was in a troubling place politically.

These interpretations are heavily opinion-driven; they’re part commentary, part speculation, and not official ABC statements.

Earlier suspension over Charlie Kirk remarks

To understand why any new Kimmel remark becomes a flashpoint, it helps to look at his September 2025 suspension after commentary about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

  • On his show, Kimmel accused Republicans and what he called the “MAGA gang” of trying to distance themselves from the alleged shooter while still using the killing to “score political points.”
  • He also harshly criticized how some on the right publicly mourned Kirk, saying it resembled a childish reaction instead of an adult mourning a friend, which some officials labeled “reprehensible.”

Following pressure from federal regulators and conservative media, ABC pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air for a time, and some major station groups refused to carry the show in that slot.

This incident turned Kimmel into a central figure in the ongoing clash between the Trump administration, regulators, and late-night TV.

Kimmel’s return and stance

Kimmel later returned to the air and addressed the suspension directly.

  • He said it was never his intention to make light of the murder, while emphasizing how important it is to live in a country where a show like his can criticize those in power.
  • He noted that he didn’t agree with the decision to pull his show but felt fortunate that ABC had let him do the kind of program he wanted for over two decades.

ABC has since extended his contract for another year, carrying “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” through the 2026–27 season, which suggests the network still sees him as a valuable — if controversial — figure.

Why “kimmel what did he say” is trending now

People searching “kimmel what did he say” are usually reacting to one of a few viral clips:

  • The Critics Choice “FIFA Peace Prize” and “Donald Jennifer Trump” jokes.
  • The long holiday recap segment painting Trump’s recent actions as chaotic and absurd.
  • Commentary on the ICE shooting in Minneapolis, where critics say he went too far in how he mocked ICE and Trump.
  • Ongoing rehashes of his Charlie Kirk monologues that led to his earlier suspension.

Because Kimmel is now deeply tied to the Trump-era media wars, almost anything pointed he says about Trump, ICE, or conservative politics generates search spikes, forum threads, and YouTube reactions.

Fan vs. critic perspectives

Different groups are reading these remarks in very different ways.

Supporters’ view

  • They see Kimmel’s barbs as standard late-night political satire aimed at those in power.
  • Many argue that pulling him off the air or pressuring networks over his comments threatens free expression and pushes comedians to self-censor.

Critics’ view

  • Some conservatives describe his jokes as disrespectful and in poor taste, especially in the contexts of a killing (Charlie Kirk) or the ICE shooting.
  • Media critics on the right claim his attacks on Trump and agencies like ICE are driving away part of the audience and damaging ratings, though those claims often come from partisan outlets rather than neutral ratings data.

Quick bullet recap: “What did he say?”

If you just want the short, content-focused rundown:

  • At Critics Choice 2026, he joked he’d prefer a “FIFA Peace Prize” and mock-thanked “Donald Jennifer Trump” for endless material.
  • In his holiday recap, he listed a string of Trump actions and said they were enough for a multi-part documentary, painting them as wild and excessive.
  • In a segment on an ICE shooting of an unarmed woman in Minneapolis, he mocked ICE and Trump while condemning brutality, which some say triggered a ratings backlash and talk of him leaving the country.
  • Back in 2025, he called Republicans’ reaction to Charlie Kirk’s murder politically opportunistic and mocked how some mourned Kirk, which contributed to his temporary suspension from ABC.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.

TL;DR:
“Kimmel what did he say” usually refers to his sharp jokes at Trump (like the “FIFA Peace Prize” and “Donald Jennifer Trump” lines), his harsh criticism of ICE and police brutality in Minneapolis, and his earlier monologues about the Charlie Kirk killing that led to suspension. All of these feed an ongoing culture-war battle over whether late-night hosts are courageous truth-tellers or partisan flamethrowers.