Jimmy Kimmel says ‘tyranny is booming’ as he renews attacks on Trump in UK Christmas address
Jimmy Kimmel used a Christmas‑Day special on the UK’s Channel 4 to fire back at President Donald Trump, declaring that “tyranny is booming” in the United States.
The late‑night host’s monologue—broadcast on Channel 4’s Alternative Christmas Message—was the most pointed U.S. political talk he’s given on a foreign network in years.
The 11‑minute special aired just after King Charles III’s own speech, a tradition for which Channel 4’s broadcast was purposely framed as a “deliberately provocative counterpoint” to the royally neutral address.
During the talk, Kimmel accused the American government of trying to silence him, mock‑shaming Trump as “King Donny VIII” and claiming that an ABC‑owned show was pulled “indefinitely” after Kimmel’s remarks about the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
He said the show was reinstated after a “September miracle” when “millions and millions of people stood up and said: ‘No, this is not acceptable.’”
Kimmel explained that his return was a triumph over Trump, telling viewers, “We won, the president lost.” He warned his British audience that democratic backsliding can happen fast, citing that “the American government made a threat against me and the company I work for, and all of a sudden, we were off the air.”
In his address, he also described his nightly show as giving “the most powerful politician on earth a right and richly deserved bollocking” and urged Britons that “maybe you’re thinking: ‘Oh, a government silencing its critics is something that happens in places like Russia, or North Korea, or LA, not the UK.’” Kimmel added, “Well, that’s what we thought, and now we’ve got King Donny the Eighth calling for executions. It happens fast.”
Trump’s own rhetoric last month—denouncing Democratic lawmakers who urged U.S. service members to refuse unlawful orders as “seditious behavior” punishable by death—has drawn condemnation from Democrats for provoking political violence, though the White House has denied that he was literally calling for executions.
Kimmel’s fall from grace began in September, when his ABC talk show was briefly suspended after comments he made about the characte in Kirk’s assassination. The incident triggered backlash from conservatives, advertisers and some local affiliates who pre‑empted the show.
ABC ultimately reversed the decision amid public pressure, and Disney, ABC’s parent company, had extended Kimmel’s contract through 2027 in December.
In his Christmas special, Kimmel apologized for bringing U.S. political turbulence to British viewers, stating, “We’re not all like him” and adding that “we’re going through a bit of a wobble right now, but we’ll come around.”
The Alternative Christmas Message—first aired in 1993—continues to offer a platform for voices outside Britain’s establishment, including whistleblowers, activists and controversial figures. Trump has not yet responded to Kimmel’s remarks.
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