Jimmy Kimmel holds back tears on air after Trump election win: ‘A terrible night’

US TV host Jimmy Kimmel was overwhelmed with emotion as he delivered a 16-minute speech following Donald Trump’s presidential election win.

Speaking on Wednesday night’s (6 November) Jimmy Kimmel Live, he reflected on the result and why it will be “terrible” for minority groups.

He began his takedown of Trump with a skit about leaving the country, where he was seen packing his belongings and saying: “I can’t stay for another four years of this, who knows what he’s gonna do.”

The comedian went on to express disbelief that the American public had opted for the twice-impeached Trump ahead of vice-president Kamala Harris.

“We had the choice between a prosecutor and a criminal, and we chose the criminal to be president of the United States,” he said, adding that Trump is like “emperor [Palpatine] from Star Wars” in that he is “old, evil and keeps coming back with no reasonable explanation whatsoever”.

Half-way through his opening monologue, Kimmel took on a more serious tone, and got emotional as he listed all the people whose lives are likely to be worse under a second Trump presidency. 

“Let’s be honest: it was a terrible night,” he said. “It was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hard-working immigrants who make this country go.”

After a round of applause from the audience, he continued: “For health care, for our climate, for science, for journalism, for justice, for free speech. It was a terrible night for poor people, for the middle class, for seniors who rely on social security, for our allies in Ukraine, for NATO, for the truth and democracy and decency.”

Trump has pledged to roll back certain rights for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly for trans people.

Jimmy Kimmel: "It was a terrible night for everyone who voted against him, and guess what? It was a bad night for everyone who voted for him too. You just don't realize it yet." pic.twitter.com/5jNuWrjP54

— LateNighter (@latenightercom) November 7, 2024

Kimmel then delivered a stark warning to Trump’s supporters, saying: “It was a terrible night for everyone who voted against him. And guess what? It was a bad night for everyone who voted for him, too. You just don’t realise it yet.”

Keen to lighten the mood again, Kimmel joked that “most of all, it was an absolute disaster of a night for Melania,” Trump’s wife, adding: “It was a really good night for [Russian leader Vladimir] Putin.”

He even took a moment to take a swipe at X/Twitter owner and ardent Trump supporter Elon Musk, saying it was a good night for “loveable billionaires and the bros up in Silicon Valley and all the wriggling brain-worms who sold what was left of their souls to bow down to Donald Trump” – possibly a reference to Robert Kennedy Jnr, who bowed out of the race for the White House and endorsed the former president.

Kimmel is one in a line of stars who have expressed their dismay at seeing Trump’s victory. Actor Pedro Pascal, rapper Cardi B and musician Billie Eilish were among those to share their feelings.

And he pointed out that Harris’ supporters won’t be “storming the Capitol” when Trump is inaugurated on 20 January, referring to the insurrection on 6 January 2021, which followed Joe Biden’s election victory four years ago.

“The best thing I can come up with is, we’ve been through this once before,” he said. “And, yes, this time it is probably gonna be worse. Maybe a lot worse. But I also think that maybe we will look back and realise that in the long run this is what we needed to wake us up.

“Maybe the people who care so much about him need to find out how little he cares about them.”

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