ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! revived its controversial “Drag Queen Storytime” segment this week, once again using children’s programming as a platform for political jabs—this time by mocking Eric Trump’s new memoir, Under Siege: My Family’s Fight to Save Our Nation, Breitbart reports.
Dressed in drag, performer Trixie Mattel read select passages from Eric Trump’s book to a group of children before theatrically tossing it into a wood chipper, turning the memoir into confetti. The stunt drew laughter from the audience but raised eyebrows among parents and conservatives who view it as yet another example of late-night television using entertainment to ridicule Republican figures and undermine traditional values.
The episode comes shortly after Jimmy Kimmel’s rocky return to air, following controversy over the host “falsely told millions of grieving Americans that one of their own had likely assassinated Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.”
During the skit, Mattel attempted to let the kids “choose one together” from a pile of books, jokingly questioning whether America remains “a democracy.” When asked if they wanted to read something by President Trump, the children shouted “No,” prompting Mattel to instead pick Eric Trump’s memoir. The performer mocked the book’s tone and message, cutting off a positive passage about the President and turning the segment into a punchline.
The performance ended with a so-called “special science experiment,” where the book was destroyed on camera. “This might not be a great book, but it’s going to make excellent confetti,” Mattel quipped.
Critics argue that Kimmel’s recurring “Drag Queen Storytime” serves less as humor and more as partisan commentary dressed up as children’s entertainment. The show has a history of using similar sketches to lampoon conservative voices—one previous segment featured Trixie Mattel reading Senator Ted Cruz’s Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America to kids.
The repeated targeting of Republican public figures on Jimmy Kimmel Live! reflects a broader pattern in mainstream media’s entertainment arms: thinly disguised political messaging wrapped in satire. For many viewers, the concern is no longer just about taste—it’s about the shaping of cultural norms on network television.