Jimmy Kimmel Urges Republicans Not to Vote for Donald Trump

One week out from Election Day, Jimmy Kimmel made an earnest plea to moderate Republicans Tuesday night to reconsider casting a vote for Donald Trump, using the former president’s words to make the case against his return to the White House.

The host of ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” devoted his opening monologue to revisiting a string of bizarre and ludicrous “words that came out of his mouth” over the past nine years. He urged viewers to weigh the 2024 presidential contest as being about “sanity and security and democracy.”

“Here’s the thing. It’s kind of funny — these silly, random rants of his – and it would be fine – if he was hosting a podcast, or selling knives at the Farmers Market. But he’s supposed to be leading us. People are listening to him. And the country is getting crazier. Because he makes it OK to be nuts,” Kimmel said.

“Remember all those people who were in Dallas waiting for JFK Jr. and his dad to come back to life – and then he would serve as Trump’s running mate in ’24,” Kimmel said, citing but one bizarre conspiracy theory that has swirled around Trump. “Donald Trump is the exact meeting point between QAnon and QVC.”

Kimmel made a point of asking viewers to ask a Republican friends and family members to watch his monologue as a personal favor to them. He introduced himself with a nod to “The Man Show,” the silly and sophomoric unscripted comedy series that he hosted with Adam Carolla for Comedy Central from 1999 to 2004.

“For those of you who don’t ever watch — I’m Jimmy Kimmel. Maybe you remember me from ‘The Man Show,’ ” he said. “We had – we had a pretty good relationship back then. The beer, the trampolines…good times, right? We had fun.”

Kimmel pointed the finger at himself as he addressed the bitterness of the nation’s political and cultural divides at present.

“But now — times are less fun. We’re a week away from an election, and we are very divided. And not just because of Donald Trump – because of people like – if I’m being honest – me,” he said. “I do a lot of mocking and belittling…and it isn’t always productive. Am I biased against Donald Trump? Yes. Do I think I have good reasons for being biased against him? Yes. And I’m probably wrong – but I think when you hear some of those reasons, you may — you might agree with me — even just a little bit.”

Kimmel listed the many former Trump allies and cabinet members who have disavowed him in the strongest terms. He referenced the Trump campaign’s rally Sunday evening at Madison Square Garden, where one speaker Tony Hinchcliffe hurled racist insults and ignited a firestorm among Puerto Rican voters.

“But if you do need more – I’d suggest you watch that rally he had at Madison Square Garden – or listen to all three hours of his interview with Joe Rogan. Because most elections are about policy. This one is not. This is about sanity. And security. And democracy,” Kimmel said.

“You know, I saw a shirt the other day it said, “I support Trump because he pisses off the people who piss me off. And it’s funny. And I get it. Sometimes it feels like no one has a sense of humor anymore. But is that really all we want for America? Is to piss each other off? I don’t want that.”

The monologue closed with Kimmel bringing out his longtime sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez to buttress his points that Trump’s radical agenda on immigration is anti-American.

“This is Guillermo. He is an immigrant — he became an American citizen. And this is a toast – for our fellow Americans,” Kimmel said as the two hoisted big mugs of beer.