Jimmy Kimmel, who’s had a long-standing public feud with Donald Trump, found himself visibly emotional during his "Jimmy Kimmel Live" monologue on Wednesday, November 6.
Struggling to process the reality of the twice-impeached, convicted former president winning a second term over current Vice President Kamala Harris, the 56-year-old comedian became choked up as he spoke openly about the impact of Trump’s victory.
In his opening monologue, Jimmy Kimmel compared Donald Trump to Emperor Palpatine from "Star Wars," calling it a "terrible night" for America, but he also had one request for the newly elected President in case he was watching the late-night show.
Article continues below advertisement
Jimmy Kimmel Opens Up About Donald Trump's Election Win
"Donald Trump, he's like the emperor from 'Star Wars': He's old, he's evil, and he keeps coming back with no reasonable explanation whatsoever," Kimmel said, comparing the two. "Just when they finally scrubbed the last of the ketchup off those White House walls!"
"It was a terrible night last night. It was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hard-working immigrants who make this country go," Kimmel added as he began to get choked up. "For health care, for our climate, for science, for journalism, for justice, for free speech."
Article continues below advertisement
Jimmy Kimmel Requests To 'Share A Prison Cell With Taylor Swift'
Kimmel later had a message prepared for Trump, just in case he happened to be watching.
"My only request to president-elect Trump is that he lets me share a prison cell with Taylor Swift," he said. "I'm really good at making bracelets, and I think we'd get along just fine. We'll see how funny that is in six months when the great talk show host roundup begins."
While he opened up about the scares and worries he and many Americans share, he also tried to find a silver lining, suggesting that Trump might surprise everyone by working across the aisle to address critical issues facing America today.
Article continues below advertisement
"He won't, probably, but he could," the late-night talk show host said. "Or maybe the only good part of all this is he can't run again in 2028. I don't know. Maybe next time the Republicans will nominate an orangutan for president. Why not? At least make it fun."
Article continues below advertisement
Jimmy Kimmel Is 'Disappointed' In Election Results
As he wrapped up his monologue, Kimmel admitted he is "disappointed" and he "knows a lot of you are too."
"I thought common sense would prevail. I'm so stupid. I always think it's gonna, but for a lot of people this just isn't important, it's not high on their list," Kimmel said. "There's evidence that many voters didn't even realize Joe Biden wasn't on the ballot anymore."
Kimmel’s feud with Trump began during Trump’s presidency and has continued through his post-presidential years. The feud became particularly intense in 2018 when Kimmel criticized the administration’s policy of separating families at the U.S.-Mexico border, delivering an emotional monologue that stirred strong reactions on both sides of the political spectrum.
Article continues below advertisement
More Than Half Of The Country Voted For Donald Trump
[embedded content]
Former President Trump is set to return to the White House as the 47th commander-in-chief after a decisive Electoral College victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
"Last night we had the choice between a prosecutor and a criminal and we chose the criminal," the caption to the YouTube video of his monologue stated. "More than half of the country voted for Donald Trump. It turns out the election wasn’t rigged even though he said it was while people were in line voting."
"Jimmy’s kids were very upset at the news," he added. "Jimmy received a lot of texts from anxious friends and family members. President Biden watched all of the action from the White House and he called Trump today to congratulate him. Kamala Harris also called Donald Trump to concede and she gave a speech at her alma mater Howard University."
The show added, "The voting itself went relatively smoothly despite a number of bomb threats that were sent into heavily democratic precincts. It was a terrible night for so many in America."