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Jimmy Kimmel Hits Trump TV With Damning Mockery As Its Viewership Collapses Days After Launch
Jimmy Kimmel has found a fresh target to roast Donald Trump, and this time, the president’s own streaming venture handed him the perfect material.
Trump TV: The Essentials Station reportedly saw its viewership plunge by nearly 95% just days after launching.
And Kimmel wasted no time turning those numbers into a punchline, taking aim at Trump’s obsession with ratings before unveiling a string of wildly inappropriate fictional shows for the network.
Highlights
- Jimmy Kimmel seized on an unexpected development surrounding Donald Trump’s new TV venture to deliver a fresh round of jokes.
- The late-night host unveiled a string of wildly inappropriate fictional shows that took aim at some of Trump’s most familiar talking points.
- Kimmel’s latest Trump TV mockery also brought their years-long public feud back into the spotlight.
One viewer reacted, “The best comedians don’t tell jokes, they tell the truth in a way that makes you laugh instead of cry.”
RELATED:
Jimmy Kimmel wasted no time mocking Trump TV after its early viewership numbers took a dramatic dive
Trump TV launched on September 21 as a 24/7 YouTube livestream from the White House, promising viewers a way to watch major moments from the Trump administration without relying on traditional news coverage.
The launch followed the White House barring CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from its press pool, prompting major television networks to suspend their shared coverage of presidential events in protest.
But the new streaming venture quickly found itself facing an embarrassing problem of its own: viewers.
According to figures reported by The Daily Beast and cited by Jimmy Kimmel during his September 23 monologue, Trump TV peaked at around 8,500 viewers on its first night.
Within days, however, the audience had fallen to fewer than 500 concurrent viewers.
The late-night host then took aim at Donald Trump’s long-running obsession with television ratings
IT’S LIVE. 📺🦅
TRUMP TV IS STREAMING NOW. 24/7, updated in real time, with top past moments, announcements, and the latest and greatest from the administration all in one place.
Not every big moment has made it on your tv, now it can.
📲 https://t.co/3KwWkBZ69mpic.twitter.com/g4v7n2J04s
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 21, 2026
Kimmel told his audience, “On Monday, to fight back against the liberal media, the White House launched their own news channel, Trump TV. And so far, it’s going about as well as everything else with Donald Trump’s name on it.”
“According to the Daily Beast, after just 3 days, Trump TV lost almost 95% of its already meager viewership…”
Rather than simply point out that the White House stream was struggling, Kimmel sarcastically suggested that the channel still had plenty of time to turn things around, imagining Trump assembling a spectacular lineup that could attract an audience far larger than its early numbers.
“But, don’t worry, the channel is young, it’s new, and our celebrity of president is putting together a line of tippy-top-notch programming that’ll have the MAGA faithful tuning in with ratings bigger than the Super Bowl and uh two other Super Bowls combined,” Kimmel joked.
That setup was followed by a parody commercial for the fictional network.
Kimmel’s parody ad presented Trump TV as though it were preparing to launch an entire slate of must-see programming, with the host deliberately riffing on familiar television formats and Trump-world controversies.
“Coming this fall to Trump TV from the bigly mind behind some of your all-time favorite shows. Donald J. Trump presents entertainment for every patriot in your life,” Kimmel announced.
The fake lineup included titles such as “The All White Lotus,” “Survivor: Epstein Island,” “America’s Most Dangerous Windmills,” “Melania’s Book Club,” “No Friends,” and several others.
He also joked about a fictional show called “Orange is the new president,” before adding another deliberately absurd title to the supposed schedule.
Trump TV’s rocky launch reportedly came amid an escalating fight between the White House and major news organizations
“Trump TV is must-see TV, literally. If you don’t watch it, you will be deported. Streaming exclusively on your grandpa’s Dell computer,” the comedian joked. “Still got it, Donald?”
The streaming channel’s launch followed a growing dispute between the Trump administration and several major news organizations over access to the White House.
That created an unusual situation for the White House, which was suddenly trying to provide more of its own footage and coverage without the traditional network crews that had long documented presidential events.
The White House, however, positioned Trump TV as a direct way for viewers to access administration material.
Kimmel’s mockery also fits into a much longer history of public clashes between the late-night host and Trump.
The two have repeatedly traded insults over the years, with the President frequently criticizing Kimmel and the ratings of his ABC program, while Kimmel has made Trump a recurring target of his monologues.
Kimmel’s latest jab at Trump’s network adds another chapter to his years-long feud with the president
The duo’s feud reached a mainstream peak during the 2024 Academy Awards, which Kimmel was hosting.
During the live broadcast, Trump took to Truth Social to criticize Kimmel’s performance, asking whether there had “EVER been a WORSE HOST” and suggesting ABC replace him with another presenter.
Instead of ignoring the post, Kimmel read part of Trump’s message aloud to the star-studded audience before delivering his own response.
“Thank you, President Trump. Thank you for watching. I’m surprised you’re still up. Isn’t it past your jail time?” Kimmel quipped, drawing applause from the crowd.
Kimmel later revealed that Oscars producers had actually tried to discourage him from reading Trump’s post on air, but he did it anyway.
“Jimmy and his staff are the absolutely best! Thank you for making us laugh during this horrific chapter,” wrote one netizen
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