Jimmy Kimmel Returns for 4,000th Show and Immediately Roasts Trump: ‘We Both Accomplished Nothing’
Jimmy Kimmel Returns for 4,000th Show and Immediately Roasts Trump: ‘We Both Accomplished Nothing’
Marija MrakovicWed, September 9, 2026 at 11:35 PM UTC
0
Image Credit: Tinseltown / Shutterstock.
Jimmy Kimmel returned from summer vacation with nearly three months of material waiting for him, and President Donald Trump occupied most of his opening monologue.
The late night host was back behind the desk September 8 for his first new episode since June, which also marked the 4,000th installment of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. During his opening monologue, Kimmel worked through political stories from the summer before arriving at one comparison: “Donald Trump and I have one thing in common. We both accomplished nothing all summer long.”
Kimmel's setup reached back to the problems he remembered before his break, including the war with Iran, gas prices, inflation and the algae plagued Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. He sarcastically announced that all of them must have been solved during his absence before the audience responded with boos.
His return came hours after ABC pushed back on a report claiming Jimmy Kimmel Live! would end when his current contract expires in 2027. The network called the report inaccurate and said any claims about the show's future at this stage were speculative.
Kimmel Returned to Three Months of Trump Material
Kimmel had left the show in June with a lineup of guest hosts prepared to fill the desk during his summer break. Tiffany Haddish, Anthony Anderson, Ike Barinholtz, Colman Domingo, Jelly Roll and Rosie O'Donnell were among those who hosted episodes while he was away.
Before leaving, Kimmel jokingly asked Trump not to do anything stupid until he returned. His September monologue became a rundown of the stories and social media posts that accumulated in the meantime.
TheWrap reported that Kimmel covered Trump's AI generated posts, proposed name changes involving Lake Ontario and New Mexico and the president's appearance. After showing a recent image of Trump's darker hair, Kimmel joked that it appeared to be the only thing the president had managed to change.
Advertisement
He also said Trump had generated enough material during Kimmel's absence to fill an entire parody of Billy Joel's “We Didn't Start the Fire.” Kimmel immediately added that he would not be performing it.
The Reflecting Pool Joke Returned From June
The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool became a recurring part of Kimmel's summer recap because he had already mocked its condition before leaving the show. In June, he criticized the algae problems that appeared after renovation work on the pool.
Back at work in September, Kimmel asked how the country was supposed to win a war when the government could not “win the war against algae.” He then paired what he called Trump's “pool numbers” with his “poll numbers,” citing a 33 percent presidential approval figure during the comedy routine.
Kimmel eventually shifted to Trump's appearance. Entertainment Weekly reported that he joked about the president's darker hair and asked whether someone could have a midlife crisis at 80.
Kimmel’s Return Was Also His 4,000th Episode
The night also marked 4,000 episodes of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, more than 23 years after the series premiered on ABC in January 2003. Kimmel acknowledged the milestone during the show while continuing to joke about the political pressure his program has faced.
That history included his temporary suspension in September 2025 following comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk. ABC eventually returned the program to the air after several days, while Kimmel continued to clash publicly with Trump and FCC chairman Brendan Carr.
The 4,000th episode arrived on the same day another question emerged about how much longer Kimmel will remain in late night. A report claimed his current season could lead into the end of the program once his contract expires.
ABC rejected that account. TheWrap reported that the network called the report “inaccurate” and said “any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative.” Kimmel signed a one year extension with Disney in December 2025 that keeps him under contract through May 2027. The agreement followed the disruption surrounding his suspension and extended a tenure that began when Jimmy Kimmel Live! premiered after the Super Bowl in 2003.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
