President Donald Trump chose the Kennedy Center Honors weekend as a platform to rekindle his ongoing rivalry with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. During the formal ceremony held in the Oval Office, where he was presenting medals to this year’s distinguished honorees, Trump couldn’t resist taking a jab at Kimmel.

In the presence of celebrated figures such as Sylvester Stallone, Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, Kiss, and Michael Crawford, Trump turned his attention to Kimmel with a pointed remark.

“I’ve watched some of the people that host. Jimmy Kimmel was horrible,” Trump quipped, taking aim at the late-night comedian.

He further added, “If I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don’t think I should be president.”

The comment emerged as Trump proudly highlighted his unprecedented involvement in directly selecting and hosting the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors. He shared with the gathering that he was organizing a State Department event, setting a precedent for presidential hosting duties.

‘We never had a president hosting the awards before,’ Trump said, flanked by the honorees. ‘This is the first. I’m sure they’ll give me great reviews,’ he said sarcastically. 

‘They’ll say, “he was horrible. He was terrible. It was a horrible situation.” No, we’ll do fine.’

The remark sparked chuckles from many of those gathered in the Oval Office as the remark resurrected Trump’s increasingly personal campaign against the late-night comic.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks as honorees, from left, musician Gene Simmons of the rock band KISS, actor Sylvester Stallone, musician Peter Criss of KISS, actor Michael Crawford and country musician George Strait look on during the medal presentation ceremony

Trump singled out ABC talk show host Jimmy Kimmel in a sharp aside

Kimmel’s show was suspended earlier this year after ABC said his comments relating to conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing had inflamed tensions during a national crisis. 

Trump’s swipe came during a ceremony he has reshaped from top to bottom since returning to the White House.

After ignoring the Kennedy Honors program entirely during his first term, Trump has now assumed direct control of the process removing the Center’s previous board of trustees, installing Republican allies, and personally selecting this year’s honorees.

He called them ‘perhaps the most accomplished and renowned class’ ever chosen.’

The president placed each Tiffany-crafted medallion around the recipients’ necks praising Stallone as ‘one of the true, great movie stars,’ describing Gloria Gaynor as the unmatched ‘disco queen,’ saluting Crawford as Broadway royalty, and telling Strait he could keep his cowboy hat on if he liked.

The celebration will climax on Sunday night, when Trump becomes the first president to host the televised Kennedy Center Honors program himself – something he said he agreed to do ‘at the request of a certain television network.’

‘This will be the highest-rated show that they’ve ever done,’ he predicted. ‘There’s nothing like what’s going to happen tomorrow night.’

Kimmel’s name has long been a reliable line of attack line for Trump.

Kimmel’s show was suspended earlier this year after ABC said his comments relating to conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killing had inflamed tensions during a national crisis

Trump’s swipe came during a ceremony he has reshaped from top to bottom since returning to the White House

The president placed each Tiffany-crafted medallion around the recipients’ necks praising Sylvester Stallone, pictured, as ‘one of the true, great movie stars’

Later on Saturday evening, Trump was see at an Honors dinner alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Kimmel’s suspension earlier in the fall followed remarks he made after the killing of Kirk, a close Trump ally. 

Republicans accused him of suggesting the shooter was part of Trump’s political movement – a claim Kimmel said had been ‘intentionally and, I think, maliciously mischaracterized.’

The controversy escalated when FCC Chairman Brendan Carr appeared to threaten the licenses of local affiliates airing the show. Kimmel later called those threats ‘a direct violation’ of the First Amendment and said the government’s pressure was ‘un-American’ and ‘dangerous.’

Two major affiliate groups, Nexstar and Sinclair, refused to broadcast Kimmel’s return, representing roughly 25% of ABC stations. 

They eventually relented after Disney defended the temporary suspension as a move to ‘avoid further inflaming a tense situation.’

‘I hope that we drew a really, really bold red line as Americans about what we will and will not accept,’ Kimmel said when he returned to air, vowing not to apologize and thanking supporters.

Trump has repeatedly insisted Kimmel lacks the talent and judgment to host a national program – part of a larger campaign against comedians he accuses of unfair political attacks. 

He has privately and publicly pushed networks to remove several late-night hosts, calling their criticism ‘illegal’ and demanding consequences.