❓WHAT HAPPENED: ABC announced a contract extension for Jimmy Kimmel, keeping Jimmy Kimmel Live! on the air through the 2026-2027 TV season.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Jimmy Kimmel, ABC, and President Donald J. Trump.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The announcement was made in December 2025, with Kimmel’s contract now extended beyond its original May 2026 expiration date.
💬KEY QUOTE: “THANKS FOR WATCHING LIVE!!!” – Jimmy Kimmel.
🎯IMPACT: The extension solidifies Kimmel’s presence in late-night television, despite criticism from Trump and controversy after the host appeared to blame the MAGA movement for the assassination of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk.
ABC has renewed Jimmy Kimmel’s contract, securing Jimmy Kimmel Live! through the 2026–2027 television season. The new deal extends beyond Kimmel’s previous agreement, which was due to end in May 2026.
The renewal arrives amid ongoing public friction between Kimmel and President Donald J. Trump, including Kimmel’s brief suspension earlier this year for appearing to blame the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement for the assassination of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang trying to characterize this kid who killed Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel had said. The alleged gunman in the case is, in fact, a leftist who was in a relationship with a transgender.
Trump has previously called for Kimmel to be fired, recently labelling him a “talentless bum.” After ABC broke and returned Kimmel to the airwaves despite the Kirk scandal, the America First leader branded the network a “true bunch of losers,” asking: “Why would they want someone back who does so poorly, who’s not funny, and who puts the Network in jeopardy by playing 99% positive Democrat GARBAGE.”
Trump also blasted Kimmel during this year’s Kennedy Center Honors.
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