ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes are so unfunny, even his liberal audience has trouble laughing at them on occasion. One such example occurred on Wednesday when Kimmel tried to employ the famous comedic reversal technique when he wondered how Iran will negotiate with a bunch of “religious fanatics” who “terrorize their own citizens.” Elsewhere, Kimmel congratulated Trump “for chickening out” on his threats ahead of Tuesday’s ceasefire announcement.
Kimmel wondered, “How is this negotiation even going to work? This is a government of religious fanatics who don't believe in democracy, and they use domestic security forces to terrorize their own citizens. And now we expect Iran to negotiate with them?”
Jimmy Kimmel comments on negotiations with Iran with a dud that even his own audience had trouble laughing at, "How is this negotiation even going to work? This is a government of religious fanatics who don't believe in democracy and they use domestic security forces to terrorize… pic.twitter.com/uo5RZ4fW3b
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) April 9, 2026
Amid only a few small laughs from the audience, Kimmel tried to explain himself before giving up, "I—never mind.” It was then that the audience laughed more fully.
It is not the first or even the second time Kimmel has tried to compare Trump to the Iranian regime, but Kimmel continued, “Really the only way this conflict ends is if Iran gives Trump some kind of award, like the Hormuz Peace Prize, you know? He can put it next to the one he got from Hormel Chili.”
Later, Kimmel returned to the idea that Trump had a TACO episode, “But I have to be honest. I don't like this TACO thing, this ‘Trump always chickens out’ because it puts him in a corner. I congratulate him for chickening out. I think it was the right thing to do. A lot of presidents, after wasting $40 billion and blowing up a school full of children, would stick with it. They would keep going until their demands, the reasons they started this war, were met.”
Later, Kimmel adds "I congratulate him for chickening out. I think it was the right thing to do. A lot of presidents, after wasting $40 billion and blowing up a school full of children, would stick with it. They would keep going until their demands, the reasons they started this… pic.twitter.com/IJx3sow1Wv
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) April 9, 2026
Before anyone could ask why he brought up the school as if its targeting was intentional, Kimmel kept rolling, “They would keep bombing until they knew for sure that Iran would stop enriching uranium and murdering protestors. But not Donald Trump. Our president—he looked at the price of gas, he looked at the polls, he said, ‘Oops,’ and he tucked his pointy little tail between his porky pink legs and tiptoed right back out to the golf course. Mission accomplished, everyone. That takes guts right there.”
According to Gen. Dan Caine, roughly “80 percent of Iran's nuclear industrial base was hit” during the war, so maybe the U.S. was able to accomplish more of his goals than the late night comedians would like to give it credit for.
Here is a transcript for the April 8 show:
ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!
4/8/2026
11:40 PM ET
JIMMY KIMMEL: How is this negotiation even going to work? This is a government of religious fanatics who don't believe in democracy, and they use domestic security forces to terrorize their own citizens. And now we expect Iran to negotiate with them? I—never mind.
Really the only way this conflict ends is if Iran gives Trump some kind of award, like the Hormuz Peace Prize, you know? He can put it next to the one he got from Hormel Chili.
…
But I have to be honest. I don't like this TACO thing, this "Trump always chickens out" because it puts him in a corner. I congratulate him for chickening out. I think it was the right thing to do. A lot of presidents, after wasting $40 billion and blowing up a school full of children, would stick with it. They would keep going until their demands, the reasons they started this war, were met.
They would keep bombing until they knew for sure that Iran would stop enriching uranium and murdering protestors. But not Donald Trump. Our president—he looked at the price of gas, he looked at the polls, he said, "Oops," and he tucked his pointy little tail between his porky pink legs and tiptoed right back out to the golf course. Mission accomplished, everyone. That takes guts right there.
