Jimmy Kimmel calls on Republicans not to vote for Donald Trump
A week after Election Day, Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday night made an earnest plea to moderate Republicans to reconsider casting a vote for Donald Trump, using the former president’s words to argue for his return to the White House.
The host of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” dedicated his opening monologue to revisiting a series of bizarre and ridiculous “words that came out of his mouth” over the past nine years. He urged viewers to view the 2024 presidential election as a matter of “health, security and democracy.”
‘Here’s the thing. It’s kind of funny – these silly, random rants of his – and it would be fine – if he hosted a podcast, or sold knives at the farmer’s market. But he should lead us. People listen to him. And the country is getting crazier. Because he makes it okay to be crazy,” Kimmel said.
“Remember all those people in Dallas waiting for JFK Jr. and his father would come back to life — and then he would serve as Trump’s running mate in ’24,” Kimmel said, citing just one bizarre conspiracy theory that has made the rounds: Trump. “Donald Trump is the exact meeting point between QAnon and QVC.”
Kimmel made a point of asking viewers to ask Republican friends and family members to watch his monologue as a personal favor to them. He introduced himself with a nod to “The Man Show,” the silly and sophomoric unscripted comedy series he co-hosted with Adam Carolla for Comedy Central from 1999 to 2004.
“For those of you who never watch, I’m Jimmy Kimmel. You may remember me from ‘The Man Show,'” he said. “We had – we had a pretty good relationship at the time. The beer, the trampolines… good times, right? We had fun.”
Kimmel pointed the finger at himself when discussing the bitterness of the country’s current political and cultural divisions.
‘But now times are less fun. We are a week away from the election and we are very divided. And not just because of Donald Trump – because of people like – if I’m honest – me,” he said. “I do a lot of mocking and belittling… and that’s not always productive. Am I biased against Donald Trump? Yes. Do I think I have good reasons to be prejudiced against him? Yes. And I’m probably wrong, but I think if you hear some of those reasons you might agree with me a little bit.”
Kimmel listed the many former Trump allies and Cabinet members who have disavowed him in the strongest terms. He was referring to the Trump campaign’s rally Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, where a speaker, Tony Hinchcliffe, hurled racial slurs and ignited a firestorm among Puerto Rican voters.
“But if you need more – I recommend watching the meeting he had at Madison Square Garden – or listening to all three hours of his interview with Joe Rogan. Because most elections are about policy. Not this one. This is about common sense. And safety. And democracy,” Kimmel said.
“You know, I saw a shirt the other day that said, ‘I support Trump because he pisses off the people who piss me off. And it’s funny. And I get it. Sometimes it feels like no one has a sense of humor anymore. But is that really all we want for America? Is it to make each other angry? I don’t want that.”
The monologue ended with Kimmel bringing out his old sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez to back up his points that Trump’s radical immigration agenda is anti-American.
‘This is Guillermo. He is an immigrant – he has become an American citizen. And this is a toast – to our fellow Americans,” Kimmel said as the two large mugs of beer were hoisted aloft.
