Jimmy Kimmel joined Michelle Obama on her podcast Wednesday to discuss tackling “real” topics during the second Trump administration.
“I just can’t imagine on those nights talking about anything other than what we are talking about, and I give a lot of credit to my colleagues for doing the same thing,” Kimmel said on “IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson,” which the former first lady co-hosts with her brother. “I think it would be embarrassing if we didn’t talk about this stuff. It would be shameful.”
President Donald Trump has relentlessly attacked cable networks critical of him during his second term, especially late night talk show hosts like Kimmel. The administration has seemingly weaponized the Federal Communications Commission and, on multiple instances, cable networks have faced pressure from its chair, Brendan Carr.
Kimmel’s own show on ABC was briefly suspended last year following threats from the FCC over a joke he made about the Trump administration’s reaction to the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
On her show, Obama praised the comedian for the moments he’s opted to “go serious” and “go real,” saying he was “bravely and boldly” using his platform “to speak truth to power.”
“I don’t think of it as bravely,” the late night comedian responded. “Boldly, maybe, would be a good description. But to me, it just seems obvious and unavoidable.”
He said that while it’s exciting to just tell jokes and make the audience laugh, “well-rounded human beings don’t behave that way.”
Kimmel added that he doesn’t “love” the nights when he gets more serious, saying he feels “uncomfortable” and “emotional.”
Kevin Winter via Getty Images
“I lose control sometimes of my emotions, which is embarrassing to me, but I just feel like I wrestle with myself throughout the day,” Kimmel said. “And I go, am I going to talk about this? Am I going to talk about this? Am I going to talk about this? And then I just go, ‘Yeah, of course, you have to talk about this. You might not want to, but you have to,’ and that’s it.”
He warned Obama that what worries him the most is when “comedians warp their sensibilities” due to the political environment.
“It’s especially sad to me ’cause you look at, you know, look at some of these, these comics, and, you know, maybe they’re not doing so great, and they, you know, ‘I’m gonna pick up this, this MAGA torch, and maybe people will support me just because of that,’” he continued.
Obama added that “it’s important for people to know that for some of these folks, this is a game. This is a hustle.”
Kimmel went on to say he’s “grateful” to podcasters who previously endorsed Trump, but are now “admitting they were mistaken.”
“It’s the cardinal rule of MAGA, is to never admit when you are wrong,” Kimmel said.
