Jimmy Kimmel is retaliating against Donald Trump amid widespread discussion regarding the cancellation of his fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert’s show. Shortly after Colbert confirmed the news, Kimmel took to social media, sharing a photograph of his family participating in a “Good Trouble” protest. (These nationwide anti-Trump Administration demonstrations were held in remembrance of the late civil rights icon, Rep. John Lewis.)
Kimmel and his family were seen holding signs that read “Make America Good Again” and “I wish we had a better President.” However, it was the comedian’s caption that proved most damaging, as it alluded to the controversy surrounding the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s case and the handling of its documents.
“Summer family vacation! #goodtrouble,” Kimmel wrote, before adding: “May every day be another wonderful secret.” The latter part of his caption seemingly referred to a July 17 article from The Wall Street Journal which asserted that Trump used the same phrase in a “bawdy” birthday card he penned for Epstein in 2003. Trump allegedly wrote: “Happy Birthday—and may every day be another wonderful secret.”
Trump has denied authoring the letter and has initiated legal proceedings against WSJ publisher Dow Jones and NewsCorp’s owner, Rupert Murdoch.
Hours after Kimmel’s post, Trump responded via Truth Social, where he celebrated the termination of Colbert’s program.
“I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,” Trump stated. “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!” He proceeded to criticize Jimmy Fallon, the host of The Tonight Show, saying: “Greg Gutfeld is better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show.“
Kimmel was among the late-night television hosts who immediately expressed support for Colbert following the news, writing via his Instagram stories: “Love you Stephen. F— you and all your Sheldons, CBS,” a seeming reference to the network’s sitcom The Big Bang Theory and its subsequent spin-offs.
The cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, slated to conclude in May 2026, occurred days after Colbert discussed on his program CBS’s parent company, Paramount’s, $16 million settlement with Trump.
Colbert labeled the settlement a “big fat bribe,” alleging that the company was seeking approval from the Trump Administration for their merger with Skydance Media. CBS has maintained the decision was for “purely” financial reasons, but this has not quelled speculation.
“CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump—a deal that looks like bribery,” stated Sen. Elizabeth Warren via X.“America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.” (Warren called for an investigation into the settlement.)
Meanwhile, this is not Kimmel’s initial involvement in the Epstein narrative.
In early 2024, football quarterback Aaron Rodgers garnered attention by implying Kimmel’s name would appear in court documents linked to Epstein. Kimmel, at the time, threatened legal action against Rodgers.
“[F]or the record, I’ve not met, flown with, visited, or had any contact whatsoever with Epstein, nor will you find my name on any ‘list’ other than the clearly-phony nonsense that soft-brained wackos like yourself can’t seem to distinguish from reality,” Kimmel asserted on Jan 2, 2024. “Your reckless words put my family in danger. Keep it up and we will debate the facts further in court.”
Kimmel has consistently been very vocal in his criticism of Trump over the years.
“Isn’t it past your jail time?” Kimmel quipped last year, in response to a poor review by Trump of his Oscar’s monologue earlier that evening. Kimmel has also been critical of Trump’s border policies and immigration stance.
When Trump decided in June to deploy federal agents to quell protests related to his extensive deportation initiatives, Kimmel described Trump as “despicable.” This came amidst public outcry over the President’s choice to send in the National Guard without a request from California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
