Jimmy Kimmelhas a lot to talk about.
Thelate-night hostreturned to the air on Monday, Jan. 5, to catch up on all the news that's happened since he went on his holiday break last month.
"Donald Trumpdid so much crazy stuff over the last two weeks, it would take a nine-part Ken Burns documentary series to cover it all, but I'm going to do my best to boil it down," he said.
The first item on his agenda was theKennedy Center Honors, hosted byPresident Donald Trump, which reportedly drew subpar ratings for its airing on CBS Dec. 23. According toVarietyandDeadline, the telecast averaged about 3 million viewers, marking an all-time low for the ceremony, which honored celebs including Sylvester Stallone and Gloria Gaynor.
Prior to hosting the honors last month,Trump took a swipe at Kimmelby saying that "if I can't beat out Jimmy Kimmel in terms of talent," then "I don't think I should be president."
Kimmelsays Trump 'might have a crush on me' after Kennedy Center dig
"After boasting about what a great host he is, and how much better he is than I am, and how huge his ratings would be, Trump hosted the lowest-rated Kennedy Center Honors telecast of all time," Kimmel said in his monologue, adding, "As I recall, he said he would step down if this happened, right? He said, 'If I can't beat out Jimmy Kimmel, then I don't think I should be president.' Hey, a deal is a deal. Back to Mar-a-Lago you go."
Kimmel went on to discuss the United States'recent capture of Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, suggesting it was a move intended to distractfrom the Jeffrey Epstein files.
"If you were wondering how bad these Epstein files are for Trump, turns out, they're 'invade Venezuela' bad," Kimmel said. "This is literally the plot of the movie 'Wag the Dog.' The president gets caught in a sex scandal, so he attacks a smaller country to distract us, and here we are, distracted."
Continuing to discuss Maduro's capture, Kimmel also joked, "Trump decided Maduro had to go, and yes, he's a criminal and a dictator who's driven his country into financial ruin, while he and his family have lined their own pockets, but Maduro is no saint either."
Madurowas indicted on federal chargesof narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and two illegal weapons counts, after Trump alleged the Venezuela president was "the kingpin of a vast criminal network responsible for trafficking colossal amounts of deadly illicit drugs into the United States." Maduro has pleaded not guilty.
Late-night hosts react to Trump's Maduro capture: 'Those Epstein files must be crazy'
Naturally, all of the major late-night hosts also addressed the situation in Venezuela during their Jan. 5 episodes. On "The Late Show,"Stephen Colbertreacted to Trump's Maduro capture by coming to a similar conclusion as Kimmel.
"Do you know what this means? Those Epstein files must be crazy," he quipped.
Jimmy Fallonwas on the same page, saying on "The Tonight Show," "It turns out Trump's New Year's resolution was to distract everyone from the Epstein files."
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", will resume production after it was pulled off the air Sept. 17, following comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing. Kimmel, a frequent critic of Donald Trump, often earned the ire of the president.After the announcement, Trump urged other networks to do the same. Scroll to see the other late-night talk show hosts that have feuded with the president over the years." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
In 2016, Jimmy Fallon interviewed Trump ahead of the election, ruffling the then-candidate's signature orange hair. After the interview received backlash, Fallon said he regretted parts of the interview. In response, Trump took to social media to criticize the "Tonight Show" host, writing: "@jimmyfallon is now whimpering to all that he did the famous 'hair show' with me (where he seriously messed up my hair), & that he would have now done it differently because it is said to have 'humanized' me-he is taking heat. He called & said 'monster ratings.' Be a man Jimmy!" Fallon is pictured here at the Met Gala on May 5, 2025, in New York City." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
"The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart has a history of heated exchanges with Trump. In 2013, Trump tweeted, "I promise you that I'm much smarter than Jonathan Leibowitz - I mean Jon Stewart @TheDailyShow. Who, by the way, is totally overrated." Stewart is a sharp critic of Trump, often taking aim at the political movement he has created.
Here, Stewart is pictured at "The Daily Show" official Emmy Screening on June 7, 2025, in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
John Oliver, a "Daily Show" alum who now hosts "Last Week Tonight" is also a frequent Trump critic, and feuded publicly with the president over a potential show appearance in 2015. Oliver said he wasn't interested in having Trump on his show, which Trump responded to on X, writing: "John Oliver had his people call to ask me to be on his very boring and low-rated show, I said 'NO THANKS' Waste of time & energy!" Oliver refuted that report.
Here, Oliver is pictured in at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
When CBS announced the network was terminating "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" after the 2025-2026 season, Trump took to social media to celebrate. "I absolutely love that Colbert got fired, his talent was even less than his ratings," the president wrote. Among his late-night peers, Colbert was among Trump's sharpest critics.
Colbert is pictured here at Apple TV+'s Primetime Emmy party red carpet on Sept. 14, 2025, in West Hollywood." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Seth Meyers, the host of "Late Night" on NBC is a frequent critic of Trump and his administration.The ire, it seems, is mutual, with the president writing previously on social media: "How bad is Seth Meyers on NBC, a 'network' run by a truly bad group of people - Remember, they also run MSDNC. I got stuck watching Marble Mouth Meyers the other night, the first time in months, and every time I watch this moron I feel an obligation to say how dumb and untalented he is, merely a slot filler for the Scum that runs Comcast."
Meyers is pictured here at SiriusXM's "The Howard Stern Show" on June 17, 2025, in New York City." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, see late-night hosts who have beefed with President Trump
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", willresume production after it was pulled off the airSept. 17, following comments he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing. Kimmel, a frequent critic of Donald Trump, often earned the ire of the president.After the announcement, Trump urged other networks to do the same. Scroll to see the other late-night talk show hosts that have feuded with the president over the years.
Seth Meyers, meanwhile, accused Trump of hypocrisy by playing a montage of him speaking against "regime change" in the past.
"I still can't actually believe anyone thought Trump was telling the truth about being anti-war," he said. "You really thought Donald Trump, the most thin-skinned, impulsive man on the planet, would suddenly discover the concept of restraint when he gained control of the world's most powerful military?"
Contributing: Bart Jansen, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Kimmel mocks Trump over Venezuela, Kennedy Center Honors ratings
