Outspoken Donald Trump critic Jimmy Kimmel said he would 'love' to have the president on his show amid his tumbling ratings. The late night host was discussing his return to the screen after his show was temporarily axed over his comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
The remarks prompted an outcry, followed by celebrations from Trump when it was announced that Kimmel was being yanked off air. Kimmel was reinstated a week later, but has recorded sliding ratings ever since with viewership down more than 70 percent in his first week since his return.
In his first interview since the scandal, Kimmel told the Bloomberg Screentime Conference: 'I'd love to have Trump on the show, for sure.' However, he admitted that the president might be hesitant given his long history of criticizing Trump.
'I don't know...alright I'll ask him,' the host joked before admitting that his inflammatory comments on Kirk had been, 'intentionally and maliciously mischaracterized'. Trump has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! three times, the last during Trump's campaign in 2016.
But in his second term Trump has consistently called for Kimmel and several other late night hosts to be pulled off the air, poking fun at their ratings and left-wing comedy. 'Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,' he posted following the decision.
'Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that's possible. That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!! President DJT.'
Kimmel's viewership has dipped 71 percent in one week since his triumphant return. On Thursday, October 2, Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged just 1.9 million total viewers, down from the 6.5 million who tuned in for his hotly anticipated comeback. The show was suspended on September 17 after Kimmel made comments about conservative influencer Charlie Kirk 's death.
'We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,' he said. ABC pulled the show only to reinstate it less than a week later thanks to protests from avid fans who boycotted ABC and Disney products and protested outside of their studios.
President Trump condemned the decision on Truth Social. 'I can't believe ABC Fake News gave Jimmy Kimmel his job back. The White House was told by ABC that his Show was cancelled! Something happened between then and now because his audience is GONE, and his "talent" was never there. Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who's not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE,' he wrote.
Once reinstated on September 22, Kimmel drew in a viewership of 6.5 million viewers; the show's highest ever. Typically, Kimmel gets about 1.8 million viewers each night on television. The numbers released by ABC do not include viewership from streaming services.
During his first show back, Kimmel apologized for his comments about Kirk. 'It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man,' he said. But, Kimmel said during his interview on October 8 that his comments about Kirk had been 'intentionally and maliciously mischaracterized'. 'I hope that we drew a really bold, red line about what we as Americans will and will not accept,' he said.