Jimmy Kimmel couldn’t help himself from joining in on liberal-loving Trump bashing, and admits he lost a lot of fans because of it. The ABC late-night talk show host gave an interview with the Naked Lunch podcast this week, during which he confessed he has lost at least half of his fans.
In a proud confession, Kimmel claimed he defied his bosses at the network who may have hinted against alienating half the country. “There was at one time, maybe, I don’t know like right around the beginning of this whole like Trump thing where … that was kind of hinted at,” Kimmel said. “But I just said, ‘Listen, I get it. I don’t disagree. I mean, you’re right.’”
As a result, “I have lost half of my fans — maybe more than that,” he said. “Ten years ago, among Republicans, I was the most popular talk show host, at least according to the research that they did.”
Kimmel continued: “I just said, if that’s what you want to do, I understand and I don’t begrudge you for it, but I’m not going to do that. So if you want somebody else to host the show, then that’s fine. That’s OK with me. I’m just not going to do it like that.”
“They knew I was serious,” Kimmel said. “I just I couldn’t live with myself.”
Breitbart News reported Kimmel told The Daily Beast in 2018 he has no interest in “appealing” to Trump voters. After a controversial segment on gun control and healthcare the year before, he said “not good riddance, but riddance” to Trump supporters.
Breitbart also noted Kimmel’s plummeting ratings in recent months; his show has recently lagged behind two Fox News shows — Gutfeld! and Fox News @ Night.
Kimmel also defended President Joe Biden. “Joe Biden — look, whatever you think about him…he’s a decent human being. He’s a nice old man who quite plainly cared about people through his whole life,” the comedian said. “He’s certainly not evil. If you believe that, you’ve got some real problems.”