David Letterman does not mince his words when it comes to calling out Donald Trump. During a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the former late-night host seemingly called the President a ‘fool’ who deserves all the ‘ridicule’ he receives.
According to The Irish Star, Letterman remarked, “Speaking of leaders, let me just say one thing here. Irrespective of party or political ideology—if the leader of the free world is a fool, the leader of the free world, then, should expect and examine every bit of ridicule he receives.”
He made the comments on the December 9 episode of the show, which has already been under fire for its frequent digs at the President. After Charlie Kirk’s death in September this year, Jimmy Kimmel made a controversial statement about how the government was trying to “score political points” from the tragedy.
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ABC then pulled the show off air under pressure from the Trump Administration and Nexstar. After public outrage, Disney decided to reinstate the late-night show and even renewed Kimmel’s contract till 2027, BBC reported.
During his appearance on the talk show, Letterman congratulated Kimmel for not bending to political pressure. He said, “Another year is twisting those folks at Disney. Good for you!”
This is not the first time that the former late-night host has taken a jibe at Trump. Just a few days ago, when the President demanded Seth Meyers’ firing from NBC, Letterman posted a video on YouTube to criticize the President for his war against talk show hosts. At the time, he compared Trump’s actions to the ‘worst human behavior.’
Letterman commented, “Just a wonder of idiocy. It’s just fantastic. It knows no bounds. It’s never-ending. He’s our dictator. He’s not going anywhere. [Trump’s behavior is] like 18 times the worst behavior one has witnessed, ever, anywhere. It’s worse. Think of the worst thing that you’ve ever seen humans accomplish. This is so much worse.”
The 78-year-old certainly knows how to support his fraternity, having gained popularity as a late-night host himself in the 1980s. In a career spanning over three decades, he hosted Late Night with David Letterman on NBC from 1982 to 1993 and Late Show with David Letterman on CBS from 1993 to 2015.
David Letterman on Donald Trump: “It’s just a wonder of idiocy. It’s never ending. He’s our dictator. His appearance is fraudulent as is everything about the regime. It’s like 18 times the worst behavior one has witnessed ever anywhere. Think of the worst thing that you’ve ever… pic.twitter.com/r99dfTuMTB
— Marco Foster (@MarcoFoster_) November 27, 2025
After his retirement from television hosting, Letterman signed with Netflix to host My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman. The show features interviews with prominent personalities, including world leaders, actors, and singers.
Some notable people who have been interviewed on the show include Barack Obama, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Robert Downey Jr., and Billie Eilish.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Kimmel continues to take digs at Trump on his show. After the President recently claimed that he had passed three extensive cognitive exams, Kimmel joked that the doctors must have been so shocked the first two times they decided to conducted a third test.
Kimmel stated, “Something is wrong here. The guy who is running our country is being given unscheduled dementia tests. He’s been given MRIs. He has mystery bruises that he’s covering with Maybelline. And we’re supposed to accept this idea that he’s some cross between Chris Hemsworth and Albert Einstein?”
On the professional front, David Letterman was recently seen in a special episode of My Next Guest featuring Adam Sandler. Jimmy Kimmel Live! is currently in its 24th season and airs new episodes on ABC on weeknights.
