On his Thursday show, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel once again falsely blamed President Trump for his September 2025 suspension. While Kimmel rewrote recent history, he used it to further the claim that Trump’s attempt to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House renders him an “authoritarian leader.”
Kimmel began by previewing next week’s shows when Jimmy Kimmel Live! will be taking a field trip to Brooklyn, “You know, there’s a big storm, a powerful nor'easter as they call them, making its way to New York right now. The first time we went to Brooklyn, in 2012, remember the first night, we got hit by Hurricane Sandy, and we had to shut down the show. That was a different time, 2012. This is before we got hit by Hurricane Donny and had to shut down the show.”
Jimmy Kimmel previews his upcoming trip to Brooklyn by, once again, falsely claiming Trump got him suspended, "You know, there’s a big storm, a powerful nor'easter as they call them, making its way to New York right now. The first time we went to Brooklyn, in 2012, remember the… pic.twitter.com/NWwDMMJSve
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) September 25, 2026
No, Kimmel was suspended because after his remarks about the political affiliation of Charlie Kirk’s assassin, he believed he had done nothing wrong, and the ABC brass was worried he would further inflame a volatile situation by saying something stupid or combative in his monologue. The suspension was ABC’s attempt to get Kimmel to cool down while appeasing affiliates who were demanding an apology.
As it was, Kimmel kept rolling, “That hurricane is really spinning right now. Reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico are back to work at the White House for the most part. I think they got banned from the party tonight after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to open the doors and let them back in. They are back whether the president wants them or not. And he does not. At this point, the only thing more unwelcome in the Oval Office is a salad than CNN.”
Kimmel added, “Like Trump and the beauty pageant dressing room, they're going in anyway. They will not be stopped. Trump lashed out at the judge who made the ruling, Timothy Kelly. Timothy Kelly was appointed by Donald Trump in 2017, so that had to hurt a little bit more. And the worst part is this happened with the Chinese president in town. They embarrassed him in front of another authoritarian leader, which is just inconsiderate if you ask me.”
Not only is there no evidence that Trump got Kimmel suspended, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. The idea that he did is a media myth that refuses to die.
Here is a transcript for the September 24 show:
ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!
9/24/2026
11:37 PM ET
JIMMY KIMMEL: You know, there’s a big storm, a powerful nor'easter as they call them, making its way to New York right now. The first time we went to Brooklyn, in 2012, remember the first night, we got hit by Hurricane Sandy—
GUILLERMO RODRIGUEZ: Sandy. Yes.
KIMMEL: —and we had to shut down the show. That was a different time, 2012. This is before we got hit by Hurricane Donny and had to shut down the show.
You know, that hurricane is really spinning right now. Reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico are back to work at the White House for the most part. I think they got banned from the party tonight after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to open the doors and let them back in. They are back whether the president wants them or not. And he does not. At this point, the only thing more unwelcome in the Oval Office is a salad than CNN.
Like Trump and the beauty pageant dressing room, they're going in anyway. They will not be stopped. Trump lashed out at the judge who made the ruling, Timothy Kelly. Timothy Kelly was appointed by Donald Trump in 2017, so that had to hurt a little bit more. And the worst part is this happened with the Chinese president in town. They embarrassed him in front of another authoritarian leader, which is just inconsiderate if you ask me.
