Jimmy Kimmel is no stranger to taking jabs at President Donald Trump on TV, so it’s no surprise that he poked fun at Trump in his 2026 Critics Choice Awards acceptance speech.

Kimmel and the crew of Jimmy Kimmel Live! took home the win for Best Talk Show during the Sunday, January 4, awards show. “A FIFA Peace Prize would have been better, but this is nice, too,” the late-night host joked, referring to how Trump received the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s inaugural award.

“I really didn’t expect this,” Kimmel added before unraveling a long list of people to thank. Kimmel went on to thank the television critics who voted for the show, as well as poked fun at the other shows nominated in his category.

“We share this award with our colleagues in late night, our fellow nominees who did not care enough to be here with you tonight,” he quipped. Kimmel went on to give a special shoutout to Hot Ones host Sean Evans, though most of his comments were censored during the broadcast.

“Congratulations to Sean. Sean, don’t worry. One day, you’ll be the only one left,” he told Evans.

Taking a serious turn, Kimmel expressed his love for those who support him Jimmy Kimmel Live! after the show was temporarily suspended in September 2025 in response to on-air comments Kimmel made about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Many viewed the move as an attempt to censor the serious and its criticism of the Trump administration.

“Thanks to all the writers and the actors and producers and union members, many of you who are in this room, who supported us, who really stepped [up] for us, and reminded us that we do not take free speech for granted in this city or in this country,” Kimmel said, earning much applause from attendees. “Your actions were important, and we appreciate them.”

Critics Choice Awards 2026: Full List of TV Winners
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Critics Choice Awards 2026: Full List of TV Winners

Kimmel concluded his speech by thanking Trump directly, stating, “And most of all, I want to thank our president, Donald Jennifer Trump, without whom we would be going home empty-handed tonight. So, thank you, Mr. President, for all the many ridiculous things you do each and every day.”

He continued, “It’s been a banner couple of weeks, and we can’t wait to get back on the air tomorrow night to talk about them. Thank you, everyone.” (Jimmy Kimmel Live! has aired reruns during the show’s holiday break.)

Last month, Kimmel got tearful while thanking fans for their support amid the show’s suspension drama during Jimmy Kimmel Live!‘s final show of 2025. “On behalf of all of us at the show, I just want to say that we appreciate your support, your enthusiasm, and not just for watching… this year, you literally pulled us out of a hole, and we cannot thank you enough personally,” he told viewers on December 18.

He added, “There is still much more good in this country than bad. And we hope that you will bear with us during this extended psychotic episode that we’re in the middle of.”

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Originally published on tvinsider.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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