Jimmy Kimmel wasted no time taking aim at President Donald Trump as he returned to late-night television after his summer break, stepping back into the spotlight just hours after reports suggested his long-running ABC show could wrap up next year.
The comedian was back on stage Tuesday night for the first time in three months, with the comeback also marking a major milestone: the 4,000th episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Sources told Page Six that his 24-year television run is set to end in 2027, but insisted his criticism of Trump was unlikely to be the reason.
Kimmel, 58, did not address the speculation about his future on the show. Instead, he used his 15-minute opening monologue to deliver a sharp, joke-filled broadside against the president.
‘Donald Trump and I have one thing in common,’ he told the studio audience. ‘We both accomplished nothing all summer long.’
The late-night host then launched into a rundown of headlines involving Trump and the White House, saying that when he signed off for vacation in June, the ‘country was a mess.’
Among the issues he listed were the war with Iran, rising gas prices, stubborn inflation and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, who Kimmel joked ‘was either alive or dead, nobody seemed to have any idea which.’
Kimmel also ridiculed Trump’s troubled $20 million renovation of the Reflecting Pool, calling the famous Washington landmark a ‘big green slop hole’ as images of its cloudy green water appeared on screen.
Jimmy Kimmel took aim at President Donald Trump during his first show back from summer hiatus, which also marked Tuesday night’s 4,000th episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live
Tuesday’s episode came just hours after sources revealed Kimmel’s late-night run is coming to an end next year, according to Page Six
During Tuesday’s 15-minute monologue, Kimmel said: ‘Donald Trump and I have one thing in common. We both accomplished nothing all summer long’
‘Now, only three months later, I’m so pleased to report that thanks to your favorite president, DJ Jazzy Donald, every one of those problems has been solved, we made America great again!’ the comedian said sarcastically.
Earlier this week, the Reflecting Pool found itself in yet another mess after powerful storms left the landmark surrounded by toppled fencing, fallen trees, dirty rainwater and debris – just days after Trump claimed it was ‘almost completely fixed.’
It was the latest setback for a project that began in April to repair the pool and turn it ‘American Flag Blue’ – a renovation the White House said would take just a few weeks.
‘The president had three months, spent 20 million dollars and couldn’t even get a pool cleaned,’ Kimmel said during Tuesday’s show, before showing recent photos of the Reflecting Pool covered in tarps and seemingly filled with dark liquid.
‘I thought he was supposed to drain the swamp, he turned it into gravy instead,’ he said, joking that perhaps Trump was pumping the pool with Diet Coke instead – a quip that drew laughter from the crowd.
‘How are we supposed to win the war with Iran when we can’t even win the war against algae for God sake,’ the comedian added.
Kimmel then turned his focus to Trump’s popularity with Americans, declaring: ‘Trump’s poll numbers and pool numbers are at all-time lows. Only 33 percent.’
He claimed that with just one in three registered voters approving of his job performance, the president is doing everything he can to ‘keep us from voting in the midterms.’
Kimmel mocked Trump’s botched $20 million Reflecting Pool makeover, branding the landmark a ‘big green slop hole’ (pictured: green water is pumped out of the Reflecting Pool in June)
During his monologue, Kimmel said: ‘How are we supposed to win the war with Iran when we can’t even win the war against algae for God sake’
Kimmel flashed recent photos of the Reflecting Pool covered in tarps and seemingly filled with dark liquid, joking that perhaps Trump was pumping the pool with Diet Coke instead
Kimmel then stunned the crowd with a joke about 35-year-old Natalie Harp, one of Trump’s top personal aides, after her intimate handwritten letters to the president were revealed – including one that read: ‘You are all that matters to me.’
‘Would a president with historically low popularity number play golf instead of working over the weekend?’ Kimmel said.
‘I don’t know, would Natalie Harp drive a golf cart in high heels? You bet your chicken tenders they would,’ he added, as an image of Harp driving a golf cart in heels flashed behind him.
The host then zeroed in on the week’s biggest developments: ‘On Friday, fuel prices hit an all-time high. The Strait of Hormuz is still closed… at this point, Blockbuster Video has a better chance of reopening than the Strait of Hormuz,’ he said.
Kimmel said Trump, who declared victory on the first day of the war nearly six-and-a-half months ago, is now dismissing the ongoing conflict as ‘small potatoes.’
‘No one knows more about small potatoes than a man who is built like a sack of wet tater tots,’ he joked.
With Tuesday’s episode airing just after Labor Day weekend, Kimmel flashed a 2024 post from Trump in which he claimed Americans were suffering through the holiday thanks to Kamala Harris.
At the time, the president wrote: ‘Under Comrade Kamala Harris, all Americans are suffering during this Holiday weekend – High Gas Prices, Transportation Costs are up and Grocery Prices are through the roof.’
Kimmel stunned the crowd with a joke about 35-year-old Natalie Harp, one of Trump’s top personal aides, after a photo captured in May showed her driving a golf cart in heels (pictured)
Kimmel flashed a 2024 post from Trump in which he claimed Americans were suffering through the holiday thanks Kamala Harris and mocked the irony
Earlier this week, the Reflecting Pool found itself in yet another mess after powerful storms left the landmark surrounded by debris
‘We can’t keep living under this weak and failed “Leadership…”‘ Trump added.
In response, Kimmel pointed to gas prices on Labor Day 2024 under Harris, which he said stood at $3.33 a gallon. Now, he said, prices have ballooned to $4.15 a gallon – the highest Labor Day gas prices in US history.
He described Trump as ‘crazier than ever,’ pointing to the barrage of AI-generated images flooding his social media feeds and noting that he posted 37 times on Sunday alone.
Kimmel’s heated monologue ended with a compilation video of what he called the best and worst moments of Trump’s summer 2026, before the main show finally got underway.
Tuesday’s show followed the shocking news that the decades-long late-night run is reportedly set to end in 2027, according to Page Six.
An insider told the publication: ‘His contract is not getting extended.’ Kimmel was famously suspended by the network a year earlier.
In a statement to Our News Outlet, a spokesperson for ABC Entertainment said: ‘This information is inaccurate – any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative.’
One insider claimed that new Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro wouldn’t be influenced by pressure from Trump and his supporters.
Insiders told Page Six that Kimmel’s years of criticism of Trump were unlikely to be behind the reported decision to end his show
On Tuesday, an insider told Page Six: ‘His contract is not getting extended,’ in regards to Jimmy Kimmel Live. Kimmel was famously suspended by the network a year earlier (pictured: protestors following the host’s suspension)
Kimmel’s heated monologue ended with a compilation video of what he called the best and worst moments of Trump’s summer 2026
‘He’s not afraid of the administration… Josh isn’t folding,’ they claimed.
Another source at ABC claimed that a desire to cut costs may have influenced the network to not renew Kimmel’s contract, stating: ‘It wouldn’t have anything to do with Trump.’
D’Amaro was also reportedly offering early-retirement packages to executives as part of a restructuring and push to cut costs.
