Donald Trump unleashes anger following Jimmel Kimmel return in new Truth Social post
Donald Trump has shown that he's not too happy about Jimmy Kimmel's return to TV screens, sharing an outraged rant on Truth Social where he even threatens legal action against broadcaster ABC.
Late night host Jimmy Kimmel was caught up in the cancel chaos that ensued following the death of far-right commentator Charlie Kirk earlier this month, with the TV host placed on 'indefinite' suspension following comments he made surrounding the event in his opening monologue.
Many came to Kimmel's defense including fellow comedians and even a former president as they chastised the supposed breach of the first amendment, especially following comments made by Vice President JD Vance.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! was reinstated just a few days after Disney-owned ABC took the show off the air though, bringing the comedian back with significant fanfare as he offered up a tearful statement.
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Not everyone is happy about his return though, as one significant local broadcaster has refused to show Kimmel's program on channels across the country, and it's even left US President Donald Trump in a fit of rage.
Trump shared his thoughts on Kimmel's return via his Truth Social account on Tueday night, writing:
"I can't believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his 'talent' was never there.
"Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who's not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE. He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution."
He then went on to suggest that he's taking legal action against ABC, making reference to a defamation lawsuit late last year against ABC News and George Stephanopoulos, which granted the president a $15 million payout.
"I think we're going to test ABC out on this. Let's see how we do," Trump wrote. "Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings."
It's unclear exactly what Trump or the US government would actually be suing ABC over, but that's unlikely to stop the president in his tracks if he seemingly feels this strongly about the situation.
He couldn't be more wrong about the ratings though, as while official Nielsen numbers are yet to be released, videos of Kimmel's return on YouTube indicate that it could be enough to break records for the show.
As per the Hollywood Reporter, Kimmel's return monologue – simply titled 'Jimmy Kimmel is Back!' – is already close to breaking the record for his most viewed monologue on YouTube, earning 10,068,346 views at the time of writing, just 11 hours after it went live.
The current record is held by a monologue where the late night host reveals the details of his son's birth and heart disease, which has 14.7 million views in eight years, so there's a very good chance that the new video could surpass this in days or even hours.