Featured Image Credit: Channel 4 / YouTube
Topics: Christmas, Donald Trump, Jimmy Kimmel, US News, Politics, Channel 4
Phoebe Tonks
Topics: Christmas, Donald Trump, Jimmy Kimmel, US News, Politics, Channel 4
Jimmy Kimmel has launched a scathing attack on Donald Trump branding him ‘King Donny the Eighth’ and claiming he is ‘calling for executions’ in a televised address on British TV.
The comments formed part of Channel 4’s ‘Alternative Christmas Message’, which aired on Christmas day while King Charles was simultaneously addressing the nation in his own address on other channels.
In the speech, Kimmel begged the UK not to ‘give up’ on America, although he did concede that the country was having a ‘little wobble’ in recent months.
During the speech, which lasted for around five minutes, Kimmel also specifically took aim at Trump as he accused him of wanting to be a king, rather than merely settling for being the President.
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Crucially, he also pledged to continue to speaking out against him, and holding him to account for some of his more controversial decisions.
In his address, Kimmel bluntly remarked of his country: "I do know what's going on over here though, and I can tell you that, from a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year.
"Tyranny is booming over here. You may have read in your colorful newspapers, my country's President would like to shut me up because I don't adore him in the way he likes to be adored."
Kimmel then continued by making a reference to his own cancellation earlier this year when he was infamously pulled from air over comments he made following the death of Charlie Kirk.
He said:, "The American government made a threat against me and the company I work for, and all of a sudden we were off the air. But then, you know what happened? A Christmas miracle happened. Well, it was September, it was a September miracle. But the holiday does seem to come earlier and earlier every year, doesn't it?
“Millions and millions of people stood up and said, 'No, this is not acceptable.’ People who never watched my show, people who were on record saying they hate my show spoke out, they marched, they did this all to support the right to a free expression of speech and because so many people spoke out, we came back.
"Our show came back stronger than ever. We won, the President lost and now I'm back on the air every night givin' the most powerful politician on earth a right and richly deserved b******g. That's a word, right, I used it properly?"
He continued: "And the reason I'm telling you this story is because maybe you're thinking: 'Oh a government silencing its critics is something that happens in places like Russia, or North Korea, or LA, not the UK'. Well, that's what we thought and now we've got King Donny the Eighth calling for executions. It happens fast.
"Here in the United States right now we are both figuratively and literally tearing down the structures of our democracy. From the free press, to science, to medicine, to judicial independence, to the actual White House itself, we are a right mess. And we know this is also affecting you, and I just wanted to say sorry. And we want you to know or, at least I want you to know, that we're not all like him. We're not all like that."
Despite the bleak picture he painted, Kimmel made a point of ending on a slightly more positive note as he concluded: "We are not bright. We're Americans. No one knows better than you we're always just a little bit late to the game, but do we come through in the end? Maybe. Give us about three years. Please. Thank you for your patience, and thank you for Spider-Man. Merry Christmas, and happy holidays."
The targeted message isn’t the first time Kimmel has taken issue with Trump, with the pair frequently at odds over their vastly different political views.
Back in September, ABC pulled his talk show following controversial remarks he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination – with Trump celebrating the cancellation.
During his monologue at the time, Kimmel accused the ‘MAGA gang’ of ‘desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them’, while also suggesting that they had attempted to ‘score political points from it.’
As a result, Kimmel was temporarily cancelled, prompting a wide scale protest from all corners of the public in a row over censorship and freedom of speech.
His show was subsequently reinstated.