Kimmels, Again, Recall Telling Their Kids Trump Got Them Suspended

Alex Christy
August 25th, 2026 1:26 PM

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ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel and wife/writer/producer Molly McNearney sat down with Armchair Expert podcast hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman on Monday. As per tradition, the Kimmel’s used a podcast forum to recall telling their children that Kimmel’s September 2025 suspension was President Trump’s fault, while both also suggested they have a moral imperative to keep going and not retire quite yet as a result.

Shepard wondered how the suspension impacted the kids, “But there are a couple hysterical moments that came out of it when you had to, like, tell the kids. And I'm thinking about something Jane said, and both Billy, but Billy was the first right to ask, “Is it the president? Does he have something to do with this?” Is he the one who asked that?”

 

 

At no point in the entire podcast did any of the four people involved say the words “Charlie” or “Kirk,” but McNearney replied, “I believe it was Jane. We said—we had to explain what was going on because there were helicopters and noise outside our house, and also they were still in school, and this was becoming a very huge story. We didn't know how big it would be, and we didn't know if the kids were going to hear about it at school. So, we said the show has been canceled for a little bit. And Jane said, ‘Is this Donald Trump's fault?’ And we said yes.”

Shepard then observed, “When you're evaluating all the weird ways our kids are growing up, like that's incredibly bizarre.”

McNearney answered, “It really is. It's like — it's not — it's —I said to Jimmy the other day, I'm like, ‘This is what a wild childhood for these kids to know that the president of the United States doesn't like their father.’

Again, Kimmel’s suspension had nothing to do with what Kimmel said about Trump. It was about conservatives reacting to—not a joke—but a declarative statement about the political identity of Charlie Kirk’s assassin.

For his part, Kimmel added, “I don't know if they understand that he's not like a movie villain or a TV, you know, in a way he is. He's like a cartoon character.”

Kimmel also claimed, “They’ve never had a normal president. So, you know, for them it's like, ‘Oh yeah, this is what happens with the president.’ The president is, like, interchangeable with Dr. Evil or something.”

A bit later, Shepard asked, “Were you at any point going like, ‘Ah, okay. I’m gonna I’m retired and okay, I'm gonna’—Did you—was there any little window where you're like, ‘Maybe I need to embrace this and maybe I'm excited for that?’”

 

 

Kimmel was known to muse about retirement before he got suspended, so he admitted the suspension was not the first time he thought about it, but he claimed he is less likely to now as a result, “I think I deal with what it—weirdly I deal with it less now than I used to because now I feel, like, the show is an outlet for people who are outraged by what's going on, and I feel some responsibility to those people. So, it's not just like, ‘Why do I need to get up?’ It’s, like, well, yeah, there is kind of a reason, a non-financial reason, that that you need to do this—”

Later still, Shepard asked McNearney what she thought about retirement, and she echoed Kimmel’s general sentiment, “It definitely appeals to me for the nervous system of the household, but I also feel— like, I feel like Jimmy has, like, a fly rod in one hand and, like, a torch in the other right now. It's like he deserves to go out there and just be on the river and relax, but I also want him to keep fighting. And I feel this sense of desire to not quit because I think what he’s doing is incredibly important right now. And yes, I know we're doing it in a vacuum, but I think it's giving people, like, a feeling of like their voice is heard, and I think it's important.”

 

 

She also claimed, “I’m good either way. Like, I would be happy to be done with the show in a great — end it in a great way and do my own next thing. But I do care deeply about that show and the people who work there. And I think the voice is really important right now.”

Kimmel’s show may make liberals feel good about themselves, but whether it was the remark about conservatives reacting to Charlie Kirk’s assassination, the remark about Melania Trump looking forward to becoming a widow, or any of Kimmel’s other remarks, it does not make the audience smarter. In that sense, Jimmy Kimmel Live isn’t actually that important.

Here is a transcript for the August 24 show:

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

8/24/2026

DAX SHEPARD: But there are a couple hysterical moments that came out of it when you had to, like, tell the kids. And I'm thinking about something Jane said, and both Billy, but Billy was the first right to ask, “Is it the president? Does he have something to do with this?” Is he the one who asked that?

MOLLY MCNEARNEY: I believe it was Jane. We said—we had to explain what was going on because there were helicopters and noise outside our house, and also they were still in school, and this was becoming a very huge story. We didn't know how big it would be and we didn't know if the kids were going to hear about it at school. So, we said the show has been canceled for a little bit. And Jane said, "Is this Donald Trump's fault?"

SHEPARD: Okay.

MCNEARNEY: And we said yes.

SHEPARD: Which again—

MONICA PADMAN: Correct.

SHEPARD: When you're evaluating all the weird ways our kids are growing up, like that's incredibly bizarre.

MCNEARNEY: It really is.

SHEPARD: Yeah.

MCNEARNEY: It's like — it's not — it's —I said to Jimmy the other day, I'm like, "This is what a wild childhood for these kids to know that the president of the United States doesn't like their father."

PADMAN: Yeah.

MCNEARNEY: I mean, that's not a great feeling, but it's also kind of funny.

SHEPARD: In—a feather in your cap.

JIMMY KIMMEL: I don't know if they understand that he's not like a movie villain or a TV, you know, in a way he is. He's like a cartoon character.

SHEPARD: Yeah.

PADMAN: Yeah

SHEPARD: They're probably having a hard time taking him seriously.

KIMMEL: Well, also, they don't, you know, it's not like they— for them—they’ve never had a normal president.

PADMAN: Right.

SHEPARD: Yeah.

KIMMEL: So, you know, for them it's like, “Oh yeah, this is what happens with the president.”

SHEPARD: Yeah, these are president—

KIMMEL: The president is, like, interchangeable with Dr. Evil or something.

…

SHEPARD: Were you at any point going like, "Ah, okay. I'm gonna I'm retired and okay, I'm gonna”—Did you—was there any little window where you're like, “Maybe I need to embrace this and maybe I'm excited for that?"

KIMMEL: Yeah. I mean, it's funny. It's more immediate than that. It's more like, "Okay, so all right, so I don't have to do a show on Monday,” You know, that's kind of how I looked at like, "All right, well, the good news is I don't have to do a show. I don't have to work tomorrow." Of course it turned out to be a much more stressful workday than—

MCNEARNEY: Yeah.

KIMMEL: —the usual workday, but yeah, there was a little bit of that.

SHEPARD: Yeah.

PADMAN: It was like, “I don't need this. This is such bullshit. I don't need it.

KIMMEL: You go — you do deal with that thought.

PADMAN: Yeah.

KIMMEL: I deal with that thought regularly—

PADMAN: Yeah.

KIMMEL: — not just in an extreme situation. You know,

MCNEARNEY: I deal with that now. I mean on a daily basis.

KIMMEL: I think I think it's—

MCNEARNEY: Just like, “Is this worth it?”

PADMAN: Why

KIMMEL: I think I deal with what it—weirdly I deal with it less now than I used to because now I feel, like, the show is an outlet for people who are outraged by what's going on, and I feel some responsibility to those people. So, it's not just like, “Why do I need to get up?” It's, like, well, yeah, there is kind of a reason, a non-financial reason, that that you need to do this—

PADMAN: A purpose

…

SHEPARD: And I guess I want to know, Molly, first, like, what do you think about the notion of retirement?

MCNEARNEY: It definitely appeals to me for the nervous system of the household, but I also feel— like, I feel like Jimmy has, like, a fly rod in one hand and, like, a torch in the other right now. It's like he deserves to go out there and just be on the river and relax, but I also want him to keep fighting. And I feel this sense of desire to not quit because I think what he's doing is incredibly important right now. 

And yes, I know we're doing it in a vacuum, but I think it's giving people, like, a feeling of like their voice is heard, and I think it's important. But as his wife, I really would like him to be able to not do this show anymore so he could relax.

PADMAN: But what about you?

SHEPARD: Yeah, what about you?

MCNEARNEY: Me, I'm good either way. Like, I would be happy to be done with the show in a great — end it in a great way and do my own next thing.

SHEPARD: Yeah.

MCNEARNEY: But I do care deeply about that show and the people who work there. And I think the voice is really important right now.

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