Jimmy Kimmel Fires Back After White House Calls Him a ‘No-Talent Loser’

Martin Holmes October 16, 2026, 8:19 am

What To Know

Kimmel hits back at White House spokesperson who called him a “no-talent loser who has beclowned himself.”
The late-night host mocked spokesperson Davis Ingle and continued to make jokes about the Trump administration.
He also urged his viewers to vote in the upcoming midterm elections.

Jimmy Kimmel is once again on the White House’s bad side, though he still hasn’t figured out which of his monologues triggered the Trump administration’s latest backlash.

“The White House also issued a not-so-fabulous statement today about me in response to my monologue,” the late-night host said on Thursday night’s (October 15) Jimmy Kimmel Live! “And to be honest, I’m not even sure which one pissed them off.”

Kimmel then read a statement from White House spokesperson Davis Ingle, which said, “Jimmy Kimmel is a no-talent loser who has beclowned himself with tanking ratings and by spewing disgusting lies to his dwindling audience. He is so devoid of actual talent that nobody with any common sense would ever watch him unless it was to laugh at his miserable failures.”

The comedian responded to the criticism, saying, “By the way, in case you’re wondering what a person who uses the word ‘beclowned’ looks like, this is ‘Davis Dingle.'” He then threw up a photo of Ingle standing outside Air Force One.

“You can see him here clicking on his pen moments before they buckled him into a booster seat on Air Force One,” Kimmel continued. “I’m sorry you don’t think I have talent, Davis. Maybe you’ll like this one. Give it a chance.”

“What do Katie Zacharia and Pete Hegseth have in common? Neither one of them can pass a bar,” Kimmel quipped, mocking the new White House press secretary and the U.S. Secretary of War. “Come on. That’s solid, right?”

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“If you didn’t like that, you will for sure like this moment of beclownment because this guy is funny,” the host added, throwing to a clip of Trump referring to his second presidency as a “golden age for America” and claiming he’ll end the Iran War when he “want[s] it to end.”

“But for the time being, let’s keep on keeping on,” Kimmel retorted.

He also urged his viewers to go out and vote in the upcoming midterm elections, saying, “Let’s show the same level of passion for the midterms as we showed to that fight Kelly Clarkson had with a bird in a store.”

You can watch Kimmel’s full opening monologue in the video above and let us know your thoughts below.

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