Getting political with his comedy has come with a price. Over the past several years, Jimmy Kimmel has been one of many late-night television hosts who've often criticized former president Donald Trump. Certainly, he must have expected that he would lose the support of many Trump voters, but perhaps not to the extent of losing half of his fan base.
In a new interview with the Naked Lunch podcast (per THR), Kimmel touched on his constant criticism of Trump on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. He was asked if he was ever told by ABC to tone down the Trump criticism, and while Kimmel says that this was suggested to him early on in Trump's rise in politics, he says he'd rather leave the show than look the other way.
“There was at one time, maybe, I don’t know, right around the beginning of this whole Trump thing where … that was kind of hinted at, but I just said, ‘Listen, I get it. I don’t disagree. I mean, you’re right.' I just said, if that’s what you want to do, I understand and I don’t begrudge you for it, but I’m not going to do that. So if you want somebody else to host the show, then that’s fine. That’s OK with me. I’m just not going to do it like that.' ... They knew I was serious. I just couldn't live with myself.”
Jimmy Kimmel Has Lost Many Fans
Kimmel accepted that going after Trump was going to cost him some fans, and looking back at it all now, the Jimmy Kimmel Live! host suggests that it's been quite a bit. He believes he's lost at least half of his fan base, if not more so, pointing out that he was once a popular personality with Republicans.
“I have lost half of my fans — maybe more than that. Ten years ago, among Republicans, I was the most popular talk show host, at least according to the research that they did.”
Kimmel agrees that it might make one more popular to stay "right down the middle" politically, but that he was proud to be there alongside other late-night TV hosts like Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers to keep a spotlight shown on the issues they feel are important to them. He doesn't look at it as doing a "public service," but as an act of patriotism, feeling that he's standing up for the country and what he believes is right by crying foul on what Trump and other politicians might be doing.
“I don’t think of it in that grandiose way, but I do think I love this country, too. That flag doesn’t belong to them. This is ours, and when I see somebody coming in and ruining it, I’m going to say something about it. That’s it. It’s as simple as that.”
With speculation that Trump might be running for president again in 2024, chances are we won't be hearing Kimmel and his contemporaries pulling back on their commentary on the 45th president anytime soon.