Jimmy Kimmel Live! guest host Tiffany Haddish tried a little too hard on ABC on Wednesday to portray herself as the latest victim in President Trump’s battle with the late night comedians. Despite Trump himself saying nothing about Haddish and the White House statement only coming after a reporter’s question about Tuesday’s show, Haddish claimed, “This is the day that I finally became Jimmy Kimmel!” and wondered if she would still get paid if Trump succeeded in pulling her off the air.
Haddish began by cueing up a clip of herself from Tuesday and declaring, “The president is very focused on issues that matter right now, and apparently, I'm one of them. I got a shoutout from the White House today. For real, y'all. For real. They issued an official statement about this joke I made last night.”
Jimmy Kimmel guest host Tiffany Haddish tries a little too hard to make herself the latest victim in Trump's battle with the late night comedians. Despite Trump himself saying nothing, she ranted, "So anyway, some little snitch at USA Today asked the White House to comment on… pic.twitter.com/KvqQhaFANr
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) July 9, 2026
In the clip, Haddish quipped that “People are blaming Donald Trump for the loss after he got FIFA to help Team USA. It seems like everything Trump touches dies. Which, I guess, is why his tiny hands are all [bleep]ed up. Or maybe that's from grabbing Nikki's barbs by the [bleep].”
Thoughtful viewers would then observe Haddish moving the goalposts as she switched from “the president” being focused on her to a spokesperson responding to a press inquiry as she ranted:
So anyway, some little snitch at USA Today asked the White House to comment on that joke, and a spokesman named Davis Ingle said, ‘Who the hell is Tiffany Haddish?’ Who am I? Huh! Huh! I'm the bitch you walk past to get to get to your coach seat, mother—! Who am I? Who am I? I'm a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model! That's who I am. Who am I? Who the [bleep] Is Davis Ingle, huh? Is that a new character on Little House on the Prairie, but your ass in the White House? You're in the wrong house. But this is exciting! The White House is mad at me, y’all! This is the day that I finally became Jimmy Kimmel!
Turning to sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez, Haddish asked, “I do got one question, though. If the president pulls me off the air, do I still get paid for the whole week? Do you know, Guillermo? Do I get paid?”
Rodriguez joked that she wouldn’t, but more importantly, Kimmel himself wasn’t even pulled off the air because of Trump or something he said about Trump. He was suspended by ABC for comments about conservatives pushing back against conspiracy theories related to Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin’s political beliefs and then not realizing he did anything wrong after the criticism intensified.
Here is a transcript for the July 8 show:
ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!
7/8/2026
11:38 PM ET
TIFFANY HADDISH: The president is very focused on issues that matter right now, and apparently, I'm one of them. I got a shoutout from the White House today. For real, y'all. For real. They issued an official statement about this joke I made last night.
HADDISH [7/7/26]: People are blaming Donald Trump for the loss after he got FIFA to help Team USA. It seems like everything Trump touches dies. Which, I guess, is why his tiny hands are all [bleep]ed up. Or maybe that's from grabbing Nikki's barbs by the [bleep].
HADDISH: So anyway, some little snitch at USA Today asked the White House to comment on that joke, and a spokesman named Davis Ingle said, "Who the hell is Tiffany Haddish?" Who am I? Huh! Huh! I'm the bitch you walk past to get to get to your coach seat, mother—! Who am I? Who am I? I'm a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model! That's who I am. Who am I? Who the [bleep] Is Davis Ingle, huh? Is that a new character on Little House on the Prairie, but your ass in the White House? You're in the wrong house. But this is exciting! The White House is mad at me, y’all! This is the day that I finally became Jimmy Kimmel!
I do got one question, though. If the president pulls me off the air, do I still get paid for the whole week? Do you know, Guillermo? Do I get paid?
GUILLERMO RODRIGUEZ: Sorry, but I don't think so.
HADDISH: What?
RODRIGUEZ: You don't get paid at all.
