Jimmy Kimmel Laughs at Donald Trump Over Failed TV Network

Jimmy Kimmel addressed Donald Trump‘s media ban on the September 23 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and poked fun at the president for attempting to create his own television network after other outlets refused to participate in the White House press pool.

“On Monday, to fight back at the liberal media, the White House launched their own news channel, Trump TV, and so far, it’s going about just as well as everything with Trump’s name on it,” Kimmel said in his monologue. “According to The Daily Beast, in three days, Trump TV lost about 95% of its already meager viewership.”

He continued, “It peaked with an audience of about 8,500 on Monday night. By this morning, they were down to fewer than 500 viewers. The only channel doing worse is the Strait of Hormuz.”

Kimmel then introduced a mock ad for the network by saying, “But don’t worry, the channel is young and new and our celebrity president is putting together a line of tippy-top notch programming that will have the MAGA faithful tuning in with ratings bigger than the Super Bowl and two other Super Bowls combined.”

Earlier this week, Trump banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House, prompting other outlets, including ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, and Fox News, to stand in solidarity by stopping their press pool participation. CNN, MS NOW, and Politico filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for blocking their First Amendment rights, and a judge ruled in their favor on September 24, ordering for the restoration of their press credentials.

“According to Trump’s justice department, the president is allowed to ban news outlets he doesn’t like because they engaged in reporting that directly raises national security concerns,” Kimmel said on his show. “Yeah, I happen to agree with that. Seeing the president sleep-farting through meetings is a concern for national security.”

He also joked, “[The news organizations] asked the court to restore their access to the White House, and interestingly, Melania [Trump] filed a brief to get her out.”

Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, ABC