Not content to accuse the Trump administration of trying to destroy the country, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel escalated the alleged stakes on Thursday and accused Trump and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin of working “to destroy the planet.”
The context for Kimmel’s lamentation was the EPA’s decision to rescind the endangerment finding where it gave itself the power to regulate things such as carbon dioxide. Predictably, Kimmel wasn’t happy, “Last night, I mentioned that Trump was honored with the Undisputed Champion of Coal Award. And today, he became the greenhouse gashole of the year. Today's atrocity was repealing and rejecting a finding from 2009 by the EPA that says carbon dioxide is bad for our planet. And by doing this, it means that our government can no longer take action to fight climate change. Anyone can now pump anything out of their cars or whatever into the air for the benefit of those who sell fossil fuels. It is a great MAGA victory and also a source of intense pride for the man who made it happen, Lee Zeldin, Trump's head of the EPA.”
Jimmy Kimmel calls Trump "the greenhouse gashole of the year" for repealing the EPA's endangerment finding while also accusing Administrator Lee Zeldin of trying "to destroy the planet." pic.twitter.com/seoyvu8ocT
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) February 13, 2026
In a clip, Zeldin declared, “Today, the single largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States. Over $1.3 trillion. The elimination of the endangerment finding is signed, sealed, and delivered.”
Trump then followed, “Thank you, Lee. That was long. But good. It was good. Maybe I should say great. It was great.”
Kimmel then returned to retort, “Poor Lee. You know, you work so hard to try to destroy the planet for a guy, and that's the thanks you get.”
The truth is that the decline in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions predates 2010, when the endangerment finding took effect, but it did drive up costs for consumers. While Kimmel wants to portray the move as a handout to fossil fuel companies, in the video of Trump and Zeldin there were a couple of posters touting the benefits of the move. One of them estimated that Americans will now save an average of $2,400 per vehicle.
Here is a transcript for the February 12 show:
ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2/12/2026
11:45 PM ET
JIMMY KIMMEL: Last night, I mentioned that Trump was honored with the Undisputed Champion of Coal Award. And today, he became the greenhouse gashole of the year. Today's atrocity was repealing and rejecting a finding from 2009 by the EPA that says carbon dioxide is bad for our planet. And by doing this, it means that our government can no longer take action to fight climate change. Anyone can now pump anything out of their cars or whatever into the air for the benefit of those who sell fossil fuels. It is a great MAGA victory and also a source of intense pride for the man who made it happen, Lee Zeldin, Trump's head of the EPA.
LEE ZELDIN: Today, the single largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States. Over $1.3 trillion. The elimination of the endangerment finding is signed, sealed, and delivered.
DONALD TRUMP: Thank you, Lee. That was long. But good. It was good. Maybe I should say great. It was great.
KIMMEL: Poor Lee. You know, you work so hard to try to destroy the planet for a guy, and that's the thanks you get.
