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Jimmy Kimmel said he didn't "hate" President Donald Trump, but he "sympathized" with him.
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The show's host «Jimmy Kimmel Live!» In an interview with Vulture on Monday, June 1, he commented on his career and recent conflicts with the White House.
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Trump has repeatedly called on ABC and its parent company Disney to take Kimmel off the air, calling the comedian "scum" and criticizing his show's ratings.
Jimmy Kimmel and President Donald Trump have been publicly feuding for nearly a decade. And while the president has criticized Kimmel and called for his show to be shut down,« Jimmy Kimmel Live!» , Kimmel claims he bears no real ill will toward the man who called him "scum" and "completely unfunny.".
«"I feel sorry for him," Kimmel, 58, said in a recent interview with Vulture. "He clearly didn't get enough hugs.".
The comedian and late-night show host spoke about his career and the future of the show. Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which is now in its 24th season, in a lengthy article published by the publication on Monday, June 1.
His comments about the president came during a discussion of his longtime friendship and professional relationship with comedian Adam Carolla, a frequent supporter of Trump and his second administration's policies.
«"I love Adam, and he loves me, and I just decided that if I could change his mind, I would try to do it, but I don't think I'll be able to," Kimmel told the publication. "I don't think fighting with them will help.".
Trump, he added, is "different.".
«"I don't like him," Kimmel said, "but I don't hate him either.".
The comedian's latest conflict with the president, with whom he has clashed repeatedly over the years, began in April after Kimmel joked on his show that first lady Melania Trump was "glowing like a widow-to-be" two days before a gunman stormed security at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington.
Jimmy Kimmel on the set of his late-night show. Photo: Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty.
The shooting suspect, 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen, was later charged in federal court with attempted assassination of the president.
Kimmel's performance, which he defended as an "obvious" joke about the couple's 24-year age difference, provoked a furious response from the White House, including a rare condemnation from the First Lady herself. On social media, Trump demanded that ABC and its parent company, The Walt Disney Company, "immediately" fire Kimmel for what the president called "incitement to violence.".
Trump, 79, earlier last year threatened to "test" ABC after it resumed airing the show. «Jimmy Kimmel Live!» after a brief suspension due to Kimmel's comments about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
President Donald Trump speaks with New York Yankees players before a game on September 11, 2025. Photo: New York Yankees/Getty
The network is increasingly pressuring the administration to fire Kimmel, whose contract expires next year. In April, without mentioning Kimmel, the Federal Communications Commission ordered an early review of ABC's station licenses for possible violations.
While his most high-profile conflict of late may be with Kimmel, Trump has often clashed with other late-night talk show hosts as well.
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He recently warned that the final episode of Stephen Colbert's show «The Late Show »" marked the "beginning of the end" for late-night television hosts, most of whom had ridiculed the president on their shows.
«May they all rest in peace!» Trump wrote on Truth Social the morning after Colbert’s final episode on May 21. CBS, which launched «The Late Show» in 1993, announced the end of the long-running program last summer, just days after Colbert mocked the company's $16 million-per-episode deal with Trump.« 60 minutes »", calling it a "big, fat bribe.".
CBS, which is owned by Paramount Skydance and controlled by billionaire David Ellison, the heir to a tech empire, says the show's cancellation was "purely a financial decision.".
Read the original article on People.