Jimmy Kimmel took a victory lap as he returned to television on Tuesday night by pointing out President Donald Trump’s glaring hypocrisy when it comes to free speech.
He rolled footage of Trump in 2022 praising it as a “most fundamental” American right.
“If we don’t have free speech, then we just don’t have a free country,” Trump said at the time. “It’s as simple as that.”
Yet the president has repeatedly pushed for TV networks to fire the hosts who make fun of him and criticize him, and last week celebrated news of Kimmel’s suspension.
Trump called Kimmel a “whack job,” said he had “no talent,” and claimed that the host had “no ratings.”
“Well, I do tonight,” Kimmel said as the audience cheered.
Kimmel’s suspension, combined with Trump’s attacks on the show, made the host’s return on Tuesday night must-see TV.
“You almost have to feel sorry for him,” Kimmel said. “He did his best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly.”
See more below: