Jimmy Kimmel has said he will ask President Donald Trump to appear on his show, following his return to broadcasting after the furor caused by comments the comedian made about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Describing his remarks about the killing as ‘maliciously mischaracterised’, Kimmel explained that various factors, including the intensity of the news cycle and changing relationships between the White House and the media, mean that politics has become a bigger part of how he speaks to audiences.
Speaking about Trump, Kimmel said, “He’s on TV all day, every day. He gives us [the media] a lot to use. That’s not how it used to be. You’d occasionally get a video of George Bush walking the wrong way on stage and you’d make a week out of it, or somebody trips or something like that. But now you see him, you hear him, he’s presenting himself so frequently – it’s more digestible and less digestible at the same time.”
“I’d love to have Trump on the show, for sure,” Kimmel said, adding: “Alright, I’ll ask him.”
Such a booking seems unlikely given Trump and Kimmel’s entrenched opposition to one another, but would undoubtedly provide both with an even larger platform to score points and reach audiences.
Trump made no secret of his delight last month when ABC announced it was taking Kimmel’s show off air “indefinitely”, saying that the host had been fired for “lack of talent”.
However, after just six days, Kimmel was reinstated with the show’s parent company, Disney, saying it had “thoughtful conversations” with Kimmel over the comments, which it described as “ill-timed.”
“I can’t believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back,” Trump then fumed on Truth Social. “The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled!”
In his return to the airwaves, Kimmel addressed the Kirk controversy, telling the audience it was “never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.”
In the popularity contest stakes, it appears Kimmel may have the edge over the president. This week, a new YouGov poll gave Kimmel a 16-point lead in favorability over Trump.
“I am more popular than the president of the United States,” Kimmel said as The Independent’s headline about the poll appeared on-screen.
Kimmel made the comments about inviting Trump onto the show during a conversation with Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw, who also asked Kimmel about the number of people who had reportedly canceled their Disney Plus subscriptions following the pulling of Kimmel’s show. Whether he knew if it was true, Kimmel responded: “I hope so! I don’t know. I mean, it gave me a feeling of power that I’ve never had before.”
Shaw also asked if there was a dream guest he hadn’t yet had on his show, to which Kimmel suggested UK street artist Banksy, who keeps his identity hidden.
“I would love to have Banksy on the show. Yeah. That’s my dream guest,” Kimmel said.
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
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