Over the past few months, Donald Trump has gotten away without a scratch on Saturday Night Live, lightly parodied himself with Jimmy Fallon, and sat down for a surprisingly soft interview with Stephen Colbert. Tonight, he may have finally met his match in Jimmy Kimmel.
“We know Donald Trump as a businessman, author, and reality show star,” Kimmel said in his opening monologue as way of introduction for someone who at this point needs none. “But our children will know him as the president who blew up the moon for being a loser.”
Trump, who abruptly canceled a New York appearance with Kimmel two months ago, immediately thanked the host for sticking up for him in the past and showered him with flattery, despite some of the recent bits the host has done about him on the show.
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When Trump brought up his threat to pull out of CNN’s debate unless they paid him, Kimmel joked, “That’s a shame, because you could use more money.” The host also laughed out loud when Trump admitted he’s been “a little bit divisive” during this election cycle.
At the same time, Kimmel gave Trump ample room to criticize and minimize his favorite target, Jeb Bush, giving him the backhanded compliment that he’s “too nice” to kill baby Hitler.
Kimmel saved some of his harder-hitting questions for his second segment with the candidate, bringing up the various xenophobic comments he’s made about Muslims and Mexicans—a group that includes his sidekick Guillermo.
When Trump once again insisted that he will win the Hispanic vote, Kimmel countered by suggesting we let the Mexicans into the country and kick some Americans out in exchange.
Kimmel was tougher on Trump in response to the real estate tycoon’s call to ban Muslims from entering the country. “Isn’t it un-American and wrong to discriminate against people based on their religion?” he asked.
“I’ve had so many people call me and say thank you,” Trump said of his remarks, to which Kimmel shot back, “Those may have been crank calls. Did you check the caller I.D.?”
Kimmel also challenged Trump to explain how his rhetoric doesn’t “help ISIS” recruit more members. “I don’t buy it,” the candidate said, refusing to believe that anything that comes out of his mouth might have negative consequences.
In their final segment the host took particular delight in Trump’s ridiculous medical report that came out earlier this week and appeared to be written by the candidate himself, with statements from his personal doctor like, “Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”
It turns out, Trump may actually be responsible for some of that rhetoric. “In all fairness, I said, ‘Doc, I want to tell you, I’ll be the healthiest president ever.’” The candidate suggested his doctor took those words and obligingly put them in his report.
Before letting his guest go, Kimmel read aloud from a children’s book he and his staff wrote on the candidate’s behalf. Titled, “Winners Aren’t Losers,” it contained some not-so-veiled references to some of Trump’s more outrageous pronouncements.
