On Jan. 28, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel responded to a statement by former President Donald Trump. Trump had insinuated that Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar had staged an incident where she was sprayed with a substance during a town hall meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The incident in question occurred while Omar was addressing an audience in Minneapolis. During her speech, a man sprayed her with a liquid later identified as apple cider vinegar.
Federal and state authorities charged Anthony Kazmierczak with assault. The Department of Justice filed federal charges of forcibly assaulting and interfering with Omar, while Hennepin County prosecutors filed state charges of terroristic threats and fifth-degree assault. Court documents revealed that Kazmierczak had previously told an associate that “somebody should kill” Omar, and investigators found he had made online posts supportive of President Trump.
Trump referred to Omar as a fraud and suggested she had orchestrated the incident, stating that such an act would be in line with her character. At a press conference on on Jan. 29, Omar directly blamed Trump’s rhetoric for escalating threats against her. She added that she would not be intimidated and noted that the threats had plummeted during President Biden’s term but returned to record levels after Trump took office again. Trump told ABC News’ Senior Political Correspondent Rachel Scott that he had not seen the video of the attack before making his comments.
During his monologue on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” later that night, Kimmel seized the opportunity to respond to Trump’s comment. He criticized the former president’s statement as absurd and proceeded to make a joke in response.
Kimmel inquired as to who might be spraying Trump, and then displayed a photograph of the former president’s distinctively bronzed complexion. The image was credited to Julia Demaree Nikhinson of the Associated Press.
This interaction is the latest development in an ongoing disagreement between Trump and Kimmel, which has escalated in recent months. In November, Trump requested Kimmel’s dismissal from his show in a late-night Truth Social post, criticizing his ratings and calling him a “talentless bum.”
On November 21, Kimmel addressed Trump’s social media commentary during his show, expressing gratitude to Trump for watching the live broadcast rather than recorded clips on YouTube. This was evidenced by the fact that Trump’s post was made just minutes after the show’s conclusion on the East Coast.
Kimmel further remarked that Trump seems to become agitated every five weeks, repeatedly calling for his dismissal from the television show. He referred to Trump as a snowflake and stated that he had lost track of the number of times Trump has attempted to have him removed from the air.
Kimmel concluded his response by telling Trump to “Quiet, piggy,” a phrase that mirrored an insult Trump had recently directed at a reporter during a press conference.
The ongoing feud between Kimmel and Trump is indicative of a larger trend wherein Trump targets late-night comedians. In recent weeks, Trump has also called for NBC to dismiss Seth Meyers.
In his monologue, Kimmel humorously proposed that he would leave his show when Trump leaves the public eye, comparing their potential departure to the characters in the film “Butch Cassidy and the Suntan (Sundance) Kid.”
The talk show host discussed the controversial Jeffrey Epstein case during the episode. The House of Representatives voted 427-1 to release additional materials related to the case, marking one of the most one-sided votes in recent congressional history.
The Department of Justice released several million documents related to the Epstein case on Friday, Jan. 30.
