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By Megan Cartwright
Associate News Editor
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Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert mocked President Donald Trump as they appeared as guests on one another's shows on Tuesday.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's representative for comment on Wednesday via email outside regular working hours.
Why It Matters
The collaboration underscores a pivotal moment for the U.S. late-night television landscape as network economics, political controversy and freedom of speech collide.
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Both hosts have faced suspension or cancellation, with attacks from Trump bringing the fraught relationship between politics, media criticism and entertainment into sharp relief for American audiences.
Their high-profile crossover marks an escalation in late-night TV's ongoing response to political pressure and industry challenges.
What To Know
On September 30, Colbert appeared on Kimmel's "Brooklyn Week" special on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Kimmel paid a reciprocal visit to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
The crossover came amid recent turmoil, including Colbert’s show being canceled by CBS in July and Kimmel's temporary suspension by ABC in September following controversial comments about the fatal shooting of political activist Charlie Kirk. Both had been publicly targeted by President Trump, who criticized their content and threatened legal action.
Kimmel opened his show with Colbert as a guest, joking, “We thought it might be a fun way to drive the president nuts. So, I’m excited that Stephen is here,” referencing Trump’s repeated jabs at late-night hosts.
He added: "It's the show the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] doesn't want you to see."
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Simultaneously, Kimmel appeared on Colbert's show, where he hit back at Trump once again.
"Did you ever think the President of the United States would be celebrating your unemployment?” Colbert asked him, to which he replied: "I mean, that son of a b****."
“No, I never imagined that we’d ever have a president like this, and I hope we don’t ever have another president like this again," Kimmel said. "I never even imagined there would ever be a situation in which the president of our country was celebrating hundreds of Americans losing their jobs. But somebody who took pleasure in that, that to me is the absolute opposite of what a leader of this country is supposed to be.”
The recent controversy began earlier in September when ABC suspended Kimmel after comments he made on-air regarding Kirk’s death, sparking a debate about the limits of political comedy and the role of government regulation.
In the comments in question, Kimmel told his audience: “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.”
Nexstar and Sinclair broadcasters briefly preempted Jimmy Kimmel Live! before resuming normal programming after public backlash and celebrity support.
What People Are Saying
Trump wrote via Truth Social: "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. 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. He is yet another arm of the DNC and, to the best of my knowledge, that would be a major Illegal Campaign Contribution. 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."
Kimmel said he took the call from ABC about his suspension in the bathroom: "It was about 3 o'clock, we tape our show at 4:30. I'm in my office, typing away as I usually do, I get a phone call. It's ABC. They say they want to talk to me. This is unusual. They—as far as I knew—didn't even know I was doing a show previous to this."
"I have like five people who work in my office with me. So the only private place to go is the bathroom. So I go into the bathroom, and I'm on the phone with the ABC executives, and they say, 'Listen, we want to take the temperature down. We're concerned about what you're going to say tonight, and we decided that the best route is to take the show off the air."
"I put my pants back on, and I walked out to my office, and I called in some of the executive producers. There are about nine people in there. And I said, 'They're pulling the show off the air.' And I was—my wife said I was white, I was whiter than Jim Gaffigan when I came out of there."
"I thought, that's it, it's over. It is over. I was like I'm never coming back on the air. That's really what I thought. So we told our staff—meanwhile the whole audience was in their seats."
During the crossover, Colbert discussed his apprehension about telling his staff about the show's cancellation: “I had sweat through my shirt. I didn’t want to know anything my staff didn’t know.”
What Happens Next
The future of U.S. late-night television remains uncertain. The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will end in May 2026. President Trump’s continued threats, including possible legal action against ABC and NBC, signal that the contention between the Oval Office and late-night comedians is likely to persist.
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