The late night comedians love the idea that they can trigger President Trump into posting lengthy Truth Social posts about them. This is especially true of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, but on his Thursday show, Kimmel had a hard time wrapping his head around the idea that Trump may be trolling him and his fellow liberals when he recently mused about canceling elections.
Kimmel began a nearly three-minute lamentation by declaring, “And now he's floating the idea of skipping the next election. Trump had an interview with Reuters in which he confessed that he's worried about how his party will fare in the midterms. He admitted that Republicans are likely to lose the midterm elections through no fault of his own, of course. In fact, he said he accomplished so much that, and this is a quote, "When you think of it, we shouldn't even have an election." No. When you think of it, we shouldn't have an election. When we think of it, we can't have one soon enough! We want an election.”
He then introduced a clip of that day’s White House press briefing, “And it's not—it's not the first time, by the way, that Trump has mused about doing away with elections. During his campaign, he told—he had a rally. He said, ‘If I win, you'll never have to vote in another election again.’ And this kind of talk, it's disturbing, even for him. So, he left it to his lady chipmunk, Karoline Leavitt, to try to reel that one back in.”
In the video, Leavitt explained that Trump was “simply joking” and “speaking facetiously,” leading Kimmel to tee up a second clip of Leavitt, “A word he can neither spell nor define. He was joking. He was joking. He was joking. Like when he wishes Eric a happy birthday. He's joking, okay? If there is one thing we've learned about this guy is that he doesn't joke. He insults people. But bringing laughter to others is not typically at the top of his list.”
This clip showed a somber U.K. Independent’s Andrew Feinberg not appreciating the joke, “Are you saying that the president finds the idea of canceling elections funny?”
Leavitt responded, “Andrew, were you in the room? No, you weren't. I was in the room. I heard the conversation. And only someone like you would take that so seriously and pose it in a question that way.”
Predictably, Kimmel sided with Feinberg, “Yeah, Andrew, you buzzkill stiff! To be fair to Andrew, sometimes it's hard to tell when he's joking.”
Kimmel concluded by unveiling a four-point conspiracy theory:
You know, I never believed there was some big master plan, but maybe there is. Maybe it goes like this. Step one: You call your opponents vermin and violent, the enemy within. You say they're part of a group of paid protesters called Antifa. Step two: send a bunch of poorly-trained, heavily-armed goons into cities that don't need or want them there. Step three: when the people inevitably protest being occupied by their own government, you accuse them of starting an insurrection. And then step four: invoke the Insurrection Act, you call out the military, cancel elections, and take charge for good. Oh, and also pretend that what's going on is just business as usual.
Kimmel wants an election, and he will get one in under 10 months, and when they aren’t canceled, viewers should not expect an apology.
Here is a transcript for the January 15 show:
ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!
1/15/2026
11:39 PM ET
JIMMY KIMMEL: And now he's floating the idea of skipping the next election. Trump had an interview with Reuters in which he confessed that he's worried about how his party will fare in the midterms. He admitted that Republicans are likely to lose the midterm elections through no fault of his own, of course. In fact, he said he accomplished so much that, and this is a quote, "When you think of it, we shouldn't even have an election." No. When you think of it, we shouldn't have an election. When we think of it, we can't have one soon enough! We want an election.
And it's not—it's not the first time, by the way, that Trump has mused about doing away with elections. During his campaign, he told—he had a rally. He said, “If I win, you'll never have to vote in another election again.”
And this kind of talk, it's disturbing, even for him. So, he left it to his lady chipmunk, Karoline Leavitt, to try to reel that one back in.
KAROLINE LEAVITT: I believe you're referring to the president's interview at Reuters last night. I was in that interview. It was a closed-door interview. Obviously, there was not audio or video. The president was simply joking. He was saying we're doing such a great job. We're doing everything the American people thought. Maybe we should just keep rolling. But he was speaking facetiously.
KIMMEL: A word he can neither spell nor define. He was joking. He was joking. He was joking. Like when he wishes Eric a happy birthday. He's joking, okay? If there is one thing we've learned about this guy is that he doesn't joke. He insults people. But bringing laughter to others is not typically at the top of his list.
ANDREW FEINBERG: Are you saying that the president finds the idea of canceling elections funny?
LEAVITT: Andrew, were you in the room? No, you weren't. I was in the room. I heard the conversation. And only someone like you would take that so seriously and pose it in a question that way.
KIMMEL: Yeah, Andrew, you buzzkill stiff! To be fair to Andrew, sometimes it's hard to tell when he's joking. Like remember when he said they were eating the cats and dogs? We still don't know what that was. And by the way, a few months ago, we thought he was joking about invading Greenland. Now Marco Rubio's driving around on a snowmobile looking for a spot to build a golf course casino.
You know, I never believed there was some big master plan, but maybe there is. Maybe it goes like this. Step one: You call your opponents vermin and violent, the enemy within. You say they're part of a group of paid protesters called Antifa. Step two: send a bunch of poorly-trained, heavily-armed goons into cities that don't need or want them there. Step three: when the people inevitably protest being occupied by their own government, you accuse them of starting an insurrection. And then step four: invoke the Insurrection Act, you call out the military, cancel elections, and take charge for good. Oh, and also pretend that what's going on is just business as usual.
