In 2018, bruised by being mocked by Jimmy Kimmel nightly barbs, then-president Donald Trump pressured White House aides to see what they could do to either shut him down or get the late-night comedian to dial back the jokes.
According to a report from Rolling Stone, several former White House officials who served under Trump confirmed that the ex-president felt Kimmel was being "dishonest" when he made jokes about him.
The report notes that aides then shared Trump's "fury' with executives at Disney, owner of ABC which carries Jimmy Kimmel Live!
According to Rolling Stones' Asawin Suebsaeng and Adam Rawnsley, "The then-president, according to two former Trump administration officials, was so upset by Kimmel’s comedic jabs that he directed his White House staff to call up one of Disney’s top executives in Washington, D.C., to complain and demand action," adding, "In at least two separate phone calls that occurred around the time Trump was finishing his first year in office, the White House conveyed the severity of his fury with Kimmel to Disney."
The report adds, "Trump felt that Kimmel had, in the characterization of one former senior administration official, been 'very dishonest and doing things that [Trump] would have once sued over.'"
The report adds executives at Disney were confused "that the White House kept telling them Trump wanted Kimmel to tone down his anti-Trump humor."
Explained one former Trump White House insider, "At least one call was made to Disney [that I know of]. “I do not know to who[m], but it happened. Nobody thought it was going to change anything but DJT was focused on it so we had to do something…It was doing something, mostly, to say to [Trump], ‘Hey, we did this.’”
Kimmel, it should be noted is still on the air, while Trump lost reelection in 2020.
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