Donald Trump at the U.S. Open in September 2025 and Jimmy Kimmel in 2024. Kimmel's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was pulled off the air Sept. 17 after comments from Trump's FCC chairman.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" returned to the air on Sept. 23, less than a week after it was pulled from Disney-owned ABC following the host's comments about Republicans' reaction to the murder of Charlie Kirk.

President Donald Trump had applauded the show's hiatus, calling for other late-night show hosts to be fired as well.

Jimmy Kimmel was emotional in his monologue Tuesday night, saying "it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man."

He also did not back off criticizing the Trump administration, touting the importance of free speech and saying it is "anti-American" to silence comedians.

"This show is not important," Kimmel said in his monologue. "What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this."

How did Trump react to Kimmel's return?

What did Trump post about Jimmy Kimmel?

Trump criticized Kimmel's return in a social media post that went out before the show aired.

"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," Trump's post on Truth Social said. "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."

Kimmel's ratings are second-highest among late-night hosts after Colbert, but late-night TV ratings are down overall as a genre.

Trump also alluded to pursuing legal action, as he has done with several other media companies.

"(Kimmel) is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution," Trump said. "I think we’re going to test ABC out on this. Let’s see how we do. Last time I went after them, they gave me $16 Million Dollars. This one sounds even more lucrative. A true bunch of losers! Let Jimmy Kimmel rot in his bad Ratings."

In March 2024, Trump sued ABC News and host George Stephanopoulos over questions about E. Jean Carroll, whom juries found Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming. ABC News settled the case for $15 million in December, according to Reuters. A separate lawsuit against CBS News in October 2024 resulted in a $16 million settlement.

ABC News did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the notion of a lawsuit.

What did Jimmy Kimmel say when he returned?

Kimmel said in his Sept. 23 monologue he did not agree with ABC's decision to pull him off the air.

"I told them that and we had many conversations. I shared my point of view, they shared theirs. We talked it through, and at the end, even though they didn't have to — they really didn't have to, this is a giant company, we have short attention spans, and I am a tiny part of the Disney corporation — they welcomed me back on the air and I thank them for that," he said.

Kimmel also acknowledged that putting him back on the air put ABC at risk because the "president of the United States made it very clear he wants to see me and the hundreds of people who work here fired from our jobs. Our leader celebrates Americans losing their livelihoods because he can't take a joke."

Following Kimmel's suspension last week, Trump called for Jimmy Fallon's and Seth Meyers' shows to be canceled.

Kimmel continued with his monologue, "We have to speak out against this bully. He's not stopping. And it's not just comedy. He’s gunning for our journalists, too. He’s suing them, he's bullying them ... I know that's not as interesting as muzzling a comedian but it's so important to have a free press."

Nexstar and Sinclair continuing to pre-empt Jimmy Kimme show

In a Sept. 15 monologue, Kimmel said, "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."

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr expressed outrage over the comments and seemed to threaten ABC, Disney and Kimmel in a Sept. 17 YouTube appearance, saying: "We can do this the easy way or the hard way."

After ABC opted to bring back the show, Sinclair Broadcast Group said it will be pre-empting Kimmel's show at its ABC affiliate stations and replacing it with news programming. Nexstar Media Group Inc. announced it would also not be airing the show.

"We stand by that decision pending assurance that all parties are committed to fostering an environment of respectful, constructive dialogue in the markets we serve," Nexstar said in a press release.

Contributing: Anthony Robledo, Pamela Avila, Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What did Trump say about Jimmy Kimmel’s return? Late night show hits back on free speech

Reporting by Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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