Donald Trump Takes Aim at ‘Loser’ Jimmy Kimmel, Suggests Replacement Amid Retirement Talk

In his ongoing feud with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel , Donald Trump didn’t hold back on Thursday. The former president, often the target of Kimmel’s barbs, took a shot at Kimmel’s potential retirement, labeling him a “loser” and suggesting ABC would benefit from his departure.

Kimmel has been hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! since 2003. In a piece that was published on Tuesday, Kimmel revealed to the Los Angeles Times that he may be ending the show sooner rather than later. “I think this is my final contract ,” the 56-year-old stated. “I hate to even say it because everyone’s laughing at me now—each time I think that, and then it turns out to not be the case.” He clarified that Kimmel still had “a little more than two years left” on his deal, saying “That seems like enough .”

Kimmel frequently criticizes Trump and his children in his rants. The two got into a heated argument in November of last year when Kimmel revealed the multi-million dollar losses of Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social . Trump responded to Kimmel’s potential departure from ABC on the same website. “For 5% of what they are paying this Loser, they could get a far more talented person, who would also get better Ratings,” he wrote.

In January of last year, Trump made similar remarks about “untalented fools ” presenting late-night shows and again made fun of declining viewership. On Thursday night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! , Kimmel responded to the “shoutout” by restating his remarks from the Los Angeles Times, as per The Daily Beast .

Kimmel mimicked Trump’s statement, saying, “This apparently caught the attention of America’s most famous tangerine. And I got to say that is a hell of a way to find out you’re not going be somebody’s running mate. He has no idea how delighted I am by something like this. I’m going to try to enjoy it because he probably won’t be able to do this when they take away his phone in prison, so I’m going really like, soak it in.”

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced that Kimmel will host the Academy Awards for a record-breaking fourth time overall and for a second year in a row. On March 10, live coverage of the 96th Academy Awards from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles will air on ABC. A year after welcoming Kimmel back for a 2023 ceremony that drew 18.7 million viewers—the most since 2020’s pre-pandemic broadcast—ABC is looking to its late-night star once more.

After years of unrest, the Academy Awards were helped to stabilize by Kimmel’s careful presentation following Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. In addition, Kimmel hosted the Oscars in 2017 and 2018. “I always dreamed of hosting the Oscars exactly four times,” Kimmel stated, as per The Guardian .