Jimmy Kimmel made a dynamic comeback to late-night television on Monday, promptly targeting Donald Trump with his signature wit.

He began his first monologue of 2026 on Jimmy Kimmel Live! by poking fun at the President over the dismal viewership of the Kennedy Center Honors broadcast.

Kimmel quipped, “You know, he hosted an awards show during the break. Despite bragging about being a superior host to me and predicting massive ratings, Trump presided over the lowest-rated Kennedy Center Honors telecast ever.”

According to Nielsen Live figures, the event on December 7 drew an audience of merely 3.01 million, marking a 25% plunge from the 2024 record low of 4.1 million viewers.

“I wouldn’t want to be the White House intern tasked with cutting that headline out of the papers and eating it,” Kimmel jested.

‘You know, as I recall, he said he’d step down if this happened. He said, “If I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel, then I don’t think I should be president.” Hey, a deal is a deal. Back to Mar-a-Lago you go.’

Jimmy Kimmelreturned to late-night on Monday after a break and didn’t waste a second taking aim at Donald Trump; (pictured December)

The host opened 2026’s first Jimmy Kimmel Live! monologue by ribbing the former president over the historically low ratings for his Kennedy Center Honors broadcast

Last month, Trump had confidently brushed off concerns about the broadcast.

He told reporters: ‘We have never had a president hosting the awards before. This is the first. I’m sure they’ll give me great reviews, right? You know, they’ll say he was horrible. He was terrible. It was a horrible situation. No, we’ll do fine.’

He went on to add: ‘I’ve watched some of the people that host. Jimmy Kimmel was horrible, and some of these people. If I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent, then I don’t think I should be president.’

Trump became the first sitting president to host the Kennedy Center Honors, which celebrate ‘individuals whose unique contributions have shaped our world.’ 

The 2025 honourees included George Strait, Sylvester Stallone, KISS, Michael Crawford and Gloria Gaynor.

During his second term, Trump has developed a fixation with the Kennedy Center, even renaming the venue in December ‘The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts’.

The move sparked backlash and led several scheduled performers to pull out in protest.

Just days earlier, Kimmel had also taken aim at Trump while underscoring the importance of free speech as he accepted the award for Best Talk Show at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards.

‘You know he hosted an awards show over the break,’ Kimmel said. ‘After boasting about what a great host he is and how much better he is than I am and how huge his ratings would be, Trump hosted the lowest rated Kennedy Center Honors telecast of all time’

‘You know, as I recall, he said he’d step down if this happened, he said, “If I can’t beat out Jimmy Kimmel, then I don’t think I should be president.” Hey, a deal is a deal. Back to Mar-a-Lago you go’ Kimmel stated

The late-night host’s program had been controversially suspended last year following remarks he made during a monologue about the alleged assassin of conservative activist Charlie Kirk – a brief hiatus that was publicly applauded by Trump, a frequent target of Kimmel’s jokes.

Although the suspension was lifted less than a week later, it reignited broader concerns over the state of free expression in the US –  an issue Kimmel addressed directly while onstage Sunday night.

‘Thanks to all the writers and actors and producers and union members. Many of you were in this room who supported us, who really stepped forward with us, and reminded us that we do not take free speech for granted in this city or in this country,’ Kimmel said. 

‘Your actions are important, and we appreciate them.’

He then turned his attention squarely back to the Commander-in-Chief.

‘I want to thank our president, Donald Jennifer Trump, without whom we’d be going home empty-handed tonight,’ Kimmel quipped. 

‘So thank you, Mr President, for all the many ridiculous things you do each and every day.’

Kimmel has long made Trump and his administration a central focus of his satire –  a rivalry that ultimately contributed to his show being temporarily pulled off the air by ABC’s parent company.

‘Boy, I’d hate to be the White Houseintern who had to tear that headline out of all the papers and eat ’em,’ Kimmel joked about the low ratings

 The suspension followed Kirk’s assassination in September 2025, after Kimmel delivered a fiery monologue accusing the ‘MAGA gang’ of ‘desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them’ while ‘working very hard to capitalize on the murder.’

He also compared Trump’s response to that of ‘a four-year-old mourns a goldfish.’

Kirk, 31, was killed on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University, with 22-year-old Tyler Robinson later charged in connection with the shooting.

In the fallout, Disney-owned ABC removed Kimmel from the air, while FCC chairman Brendan Carr warned the network its broadcast licence could be at risk – remarks that Trump echoed when he suggested networks offering him negative coverage ‘maybe their licence should be taken away.’

The episode sparked widespread backlash and protests, with critics accusing the White House of encroaching on free speech and press freedoms.