Trying to juxtapose President Trump talking about the war with Iran with the setting of the White House Easter Egg Roll, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel urged his viewers to imagine the new ayatollah laughing at the “lunatic” Trump while watching him stand next to a guy in a bunny suit. The only problem was that Kimmel did not mention the clip he played of Trump was about the U.S. military rescuing the downed airman in a daring operation that left Iran humiliated.
Kimmel introduced a clip of Trump by declaring, “This is a tradition that dates back to 1878, and what you are about to see—even though we did not have video back when Rutherford B. Hayes was running the show—I have to believe that this would rank among, if not at the top of, the most preposterous moments in White House Easter Egg Roll history.”
Jimmy Kimmel reacts to Trump at the White House Easter Egg Roll talking about the rescue of the downed airman (although he didn't provide that framing) "Having fun, kids? Okay. I want you to take another journey with me, if you will. Can you imagine the new ayatollah sitting in… pic.twitter.com/yEYWi6UViD
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) April 7, 2026
In the part immediately preceding the start of the clip, Trump declared, “And what about the rescue that took place yesterday? What about that? That's something that you rarely see.”
However, Kimmel did not play that part of Trump’s speech, meaning that his audience was probably unaware of what he was talking about. As it was, Kimmel’s clip featured Trump proclaiming, “Well, they were giving me a briefing about that, and they said, ‘Normally, when you’re in very hostile territory’—and I don’t think it gets much more hostile than Iran. They're capable fighters. They're very tough people. And there are others like that. You don't mind when the enemy is weak, but the enemy is strong. Not so strong like they were about a month ago. I can tell you, in fact, right now they're not too strong at all, in my opinion. But we're soon going to find out, aren't we?”
Kimmel reacted by urging his audience to take a mental field trip, “Having fun, kids? Okay. I want you to take another journey with me, if you will. Can you imagine the new ayatollah sitting in his bunker, eating his yogurt and potatoes, watching TV, watching this lunatic bragging about blowing them up, while, with no explanation, standing next to a man in a bunny suit. ‘What this is khargoosh.’ That's 'bunny' in Farsi. I looked it up. I did some research there. And by the way, you know who was in that bunny suit? Marco Rubio! I assume.”
Even if one assumes the ayatollah is cogent, the fact that Trump was talking about Iran’s failure to capture a downed American airman deep inside their own country despite putting a bounty on him means the ayatollah would be well-advised to not make too much out of the fact that Trump made his remarks next to a guy in a bunny costume. Kimmel would also be well-advised to play clips in their full context.
Here is a transcript for the April 6 show:
ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!
4/6/2026
11:39 PM ET
JIMMY KIMMEL: This is a tradition that dates back to 1878, and what you are about to see—even though we did not have video back when Rutherford B. Hayes was running the show—I have to believe that this would rank among, if not at the top of, the most preposterous moments in White House Easter Egg Roll history.
DONALD TRUMP: Well, they were giving me a briefing about that. and they said. “Normally, when you’re in very hostile territory”—and I don’t think it gets much more hostile than Iran. They're capable fighters. They're very tough people. And there are others like that. You don't mind when the enemy is weak, but the enemy is strong. Not so strong like they were about a month ago. I can tell you, in fact, right now they're not too strong at all, in my opinion. But we're soon going to find out, aren't we?
KIMMEL: Having fun, kids? Okay. I want you to take another journey with me, if you will. Can you imagine the new ayatollah sitting in his bunker, eating his yogurt and potatoes, watching TV, watching this lunatic bragging about blowing them up, while, with no explanation, standing next to a man in a bunny suit. “What this is khargoosh.” That's "bunny" in Farsi. I looked it up. I did some research there. And by the way, you know who was in that bunny suit? Marco Rubio! I assume.
