Jimmy Kimmel has questioned Donald Trump‘s farewell letter to Joe Biden in a new episode of his talk show. The late-night host discussed the contents of the letter on his show after it was published in The New York Times, ahead of the release of Biden’s memoir.
During the November 11 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host read excerpts from a 2021 letter that Trump wrote for Biden when he departed the White House. In this letter, Trump reflected on the history of the Oval Office and the responsibilities of the presidency. One passage stated, “Not only are you joined by the past, but you carry the hopes and dreams of the entire nation on your shoulders.” Reacting to the message, Kimmel said, “First of all, there’s no way he wrote that,” before adding, “I bet he didn’t even read it.”
The talk show host went on to praise the letter’s tone by saying, “I mean, that note, it’s gracious. It’s poetic.” Kimmel also pointed out that it contained no spelling errors or words written in all capital letters, adding that these aspects of the letter are very different from Trump’s typical public communications.
The letter’s contents prompted a dig at Trump’s inner circle
Kimmel then turned to criticize Trump’s inner circle by questioning why the person who wrote the farewell letter was not responsible for the president’s other communications. He said, “Why is that person not in charge of his tweets or speeches or anything for that matter?”
The host went on to say, “Find the person who wrote that letter from the president and make that person chief of staff instead of Stephen Miller.” Furthermore, he questioned Trump’s staff and said, “Why is he surrounded by nothing but goons?” These remarks prompted a response from the White House spokesperson, Davis Ingle.
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, Ingle said, “Jimmy Kimmel’s case of Trump Derangement Syndrome is so advanced that it has completely rotted his peanut-sized brain.” He also took aim at the show’s ratings and said that Kimmel’s appeal came from viewers laughing at him rather than with him, and added, “This statement took more brain cells to write than the average Jimmy Kimmel joke.”
