HH. BREAKING DRAMA: “QUIET, PIGGY!” — THE MOMENT KIMMEL WENT OFF-SCRIPT AND LEFT TRUMP STUNNED ON LIVE TV

In yet another chapter of the long-running feud between Donald Trump and late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, the former president found himself the punchline of a fiery monologue after demanding that ABC remove Jimmy Kimmel Live! from television. The exchange, both absurd and deeply telling, perfectly encapsulates the strange, symbiotic relationship between Trump and the comedians who can’t resist mocking him.

The controversy began after Kimmel delivered a segment criticizing Trump’s alleged efforts to suppress the release of Jeffrey Epstein–related files. The remarks apparently hit a nerve. Within hours, Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social to unleash a familiar tirade — one that blended anger, self-pity, and wounded pride.

“Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air?” Trump fumed. “Why do the TV syndicates put up with it? Also, totally biased coverage. Get the bum off the air!!!”

The post, timestamped at 12:49 a.m. — a mere eleven minutes after Kimmel’s show ended on the East Coast — suggested that Trump was not only watching the program but doing so live. For Kimmel, that detail was simply too good to ignore.

“He posted this — I think this is interesting — at 12:49 a.m., eleven minutes after the show ended on the East Coast,” Kimmel told his audience the next night. “Which is nice. He watches us live! Thanks for watching us on TV instead of on YouTube, we appreciate that, and I’ll tell you, it’s viewers like you who keep us on the air, ironically.”

The crowd roared with laughter, but Kimmel wasn’t finished. With his signature mix of sarcasm and deadpan delivery, he continued to twist the knife.

“It’s also sweet that even in the middle of the biggest sex scandal in the history of the American presidency, he takes precious time on the toilet to post about our show,” Kimmel quipped. “Keep saying we have bad ratings — and you should listen to him, because if anyone knows about bad ratings, it’s that guy!”

Kimmel then pointed out Trump’s declining popularity, referencing his sinking approval numbers. “Approval rating is tanking, plunging to a new low, even among Republicans,” Kimmel said. “That’s the lowest level of his second term.”

The host went on to joke that Trump’s repeated efforts to get him fired had become so frequent they could qualify as harassment. “I’ve honestly lost count of how many times the president has demanded I be pulled off the air,” he said. “I mean, talk about a snowflake! This guy — every five weeks, he flips out and wants me fired. If you got this many threats from a neighbor, you’d have no problem getting a restraining order. The judge would be like, ‘Yeah, it sounds like the guy’s nuts.’ Boom.”

Kimmel noted that this wasn’t the first time Trump had tried to meddle in his career. “It’s disturbing, you know, and he’s done this before — he tried to get me fired in September. It didn’t work,” he said.

Then, addressing Trump directly — and perhaps channeling the spirit of an old Western showdown — Kimmel delivered the knockout line:
“Mr. President, if you’re watching tonight, which I presume you are, how about this? I’ll go when you go, okay? Let’s ride off into the sunset together like Butch Cassidy and the Suntan Kid. And until then, if I may borrow a phrase from you — quiet, piggy!”

The audience erupted into cheers as Kimmel capped off his monologue with a mic-drop moment that instantly went viral across social media platforms. Within hours, clips of the segment flooded X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and YouTube, with fans praising Kimmel for “finally saying what everyone’s thinking.”

Trump, meanwhile, appeared to be trapped in a loop of his own making — railing against late-night jokes, only to give comedians even more material to work with. Each time he lashes out, Kimmel and other hosts respond with sharper, funnier, and more viral counterattacks, amplifying the very spotlight Trump seems desperate to escape.

Observers noted that the pattern is emblematic of Trump’s thin-skinned approach to criticism and his obsession with ratings — a metric that defined his years as a reality television star and continues to haunt his political persona. Despite leaving the White House nearly four years ago, Trump remains fixated on media coverage, celebrity feuds, and perceived slights.

For Kimmel, however, the feud has become a comedic goldmine. “He watches every night,” Kimmel said with a smirk. “He’s basically my most loyal viewer. Honestly, if Trump ever stopped watching, our ratings might drop.”

In the end, what began as a late-night jab turned into a full-blown spectacle — one that perfectly illustrates the bizarre theater of modern American politics, where a former president can feud publicly with a talk-show host over jokes told on television.

And while Trump may continue to rage online, Jimmy Kimmel seems more than happy to keep the banter going. As the host put it best, quoting Trump’s own words back at him with perfect comedic timing:
“Quiet, piggy!”