Jimmy Kimmel Declares Christmas Miracle Victory Over Donald Trump

Channel 4 handed its yearly counter-programming spot to Jimmy Kimmel this Christmas, and he used it to spike the football on Donald Trump, relive his suspension drama, and apologize to the UK for America being... well, America. It was part victory lap, part roast, part please-don't-hate-us PSA.

The setup

In the UK, the monarch does a traditional holiday speech. Channel 4 does an alternative one. This year they tapped Kimmel, who opened with dry sarcasm about how, from a fascism angle, the year has been just terrific, and that tyranny is doing great business in the States. Tone set.

The suspension saga, in his words

Kimmel revisited the mess that got him temporarily taken off the air on Jimmy Kimmel Live. He tied it to the uproar over remarks he made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk — in the speech he framed it as comments about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. To be clear: Kirk is alive; that was Kimmel recounting his own controversy, not an actual event.

He said Trump was furious about it and annoyed that Kimmel doesn’t adore him the way he expects to be adored. The twist, per Kimmel: viewers who never watched his show — including some who openly can’t stand it — rallied around him on free speech grounds. He credits that outcry with getting the show back on air in September 2025, and says he’s now on TV nightly giving the president a richly earned British-style scolding.

'Millions and millions of people stood up and said: No, this is not acceptable. People who never watched my show, people who were on record saying they hate my show spoke out, they marched, they did this all to support the right to a free expression of speech and because so many people spoke out, we came back.'

'Our show came back stronger than ever. We won, the President lost and now I’m back on the air every night givin' the most powerful politician on earth a right and richly deserved bollocking.'

What he actually said about America and the UK

• He joked that Americans are proud to have no monarchy. No shade at the King, he said; his problem is with their own president.
• He painted the US as actively tearing down parts of its democracy right now — name-checking the free press, science, medicine, judicial independence, and even the actual White House — and called the situation a right mess.
• He apologized for the way US politics spills over and affects other countries, and stressed that Americans are not all like him, meaning the president.
• He asked the UK not to give up on the United States, calling this period a wobble. He said Americans love the British — even the things the British don’t love about themselves, like Simon Cowell.
• In classic self-own mode, he said Americans are not bright and are always a little late to the game. Will they come through in the end? Maybe, he shrugged — give them about three years.
• He wrapped by thanking everyone for their patience and wishing happy holidays.

The takeaway

As far as 'alternative Christmas messages' go, this was less cozy fireplace chat and more televised score-settling. Kimmel framed his suspension as a free speech fight he won, took a few aimed swings at Trump, and tried to reassure the UK that the American experiment isn’t beyond saving — just tardy, loud, and, by his own admission, not exactly subtle.