In a powerful and emotional monologue, late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel has condemned US President Donald Trump for his remarks following the tragic murder of acclaimed director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner. Kimmel described the president's comments as profoundly "hateful and vile".
Kimmel's Scathing Rebuke of Presidential Conduct
Opening his show on Monday evening, Jimmy Kimmel reflected on a devastating weekend of news, which included a terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Australia, a mass shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island, and the murder of Rob and Michele Reiner. "This is the kind of weekend that makes you wonder if things will ever feel good again," Kimmel stated sombrely.
He argued that such times demand "compassion and leadership", qualities he asserted are absent in the current president. "We did not get that from our president, because he has none of it to give," Kimmel said. "Instead, we got a fool rambling about nonsense."
The host was responding specifically to a post Trump made on his Truth Social platform. In it, the president claimed the Reiners "passed away" due to "the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS".
Kimmel responded with incredulity, noting his initial belief that the post was a fake. "Just when you think he can’t go any lower, he somehow finds a way to do that," he declared. He accused Trump of a "rush to pin the tail on the donkey in pursuit of the Trump-friendly narrative" and of insulting a murder victim who leaves children behind. "It’s so hateful and vile," Kimmel concluded.
Colbert and Meyers Tackle Trump's Bizarre Christmas Tale
While Kimmel focused on the tragedy, fellow late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers dissected another peculiar moment from the president's weekend. Colbert highlighted Trump's attendance at a Christmas party, where he reportedly told a lengthy, ten-minute story about snakebites in Peru to a crowd including children waiting to see Santa.
"Trump’s in front of a group of families, including small children who are waiting to see Santa – which, knowing this administration, is probably a shirtless RFK Jr.," Colbert joked, setting the scene. He then fact-checked Trump's claim that "28,000 people die a year from a snakebite of a certain snake" in Peru, revealing that data from 2000 to 2015 shows only ten such fatalities. Colbert dryly remarked, quoting Trump, "This is a terrible Christmas story."
On Late Night, Seth Meyers also expressed bewilderment at the anecdote. "I’m sorry, but I don’t think I will have a great Christmas," he said, imagining future holiday trauma. Meyers also mocked Trump for advising parents not to buy their children too many dolls due to price hikes from his tariffs, suggesting the president's worldview is antiquated. "Trump’s brain is so clearly stuck in the 1950s, because the only kids’ things he can think of are dolls and pencils," he laughed.
A Call to Action Amidst National Grief
Returning to the core issue, Jimmy Kimmel addressed Trump's subsequent doubling-down on his comments, where the president called Reiner "deranged" to White House reporters. "That corroded brain is in charge of our lives," Kimmel warned his audience.
He ended his monologue with a direct plea, stating, "If you voted for that, it’s OK to reconsider." Honouring the memory of Rob Reiner, whom he knew personally, Kimmel vowed to continue holding the president accountable. "He would want us to keep pointing out the loathsome atrocities that continue to ooze out of this sick and irresponsible man’s mouth. And so we’re going to do that, over and over again, until the rest of us wake up."
The unified response from America's prominent late-night hosts underscores a deepening cultural and political rift, using comedy and commentary to critique the administration's response to tragedy and its general conduct.
