David Letterman sat down for an interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and came out swinging against Donald Trump, who is often the subject of ridicule during Jimmy Kimmel’s monologues. Letterman defended Kimmel and anyone’s right to mock Trump because the U.S. president is such a “fool.”
“Speaking of leaders, let me just say one thing here. Irrespective of party or political ideology—if the leader of the free world is a fool, the leader of the free world, then, should expect and examine every bit of ridicule he receives,” Letterman said in a blatant nod to Trump as the audience roared with approval.
Letterman joined Kimmel for an interview a few days after the late-night host extended his ABC late-night deal for another year, thus keeping “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on the air through 2027. The news was widely celebrated in Hollywood after Disney suspended Kimmel and took him off the air earlier this year due to quips about Charlie Kirk’s shooter and after continued calls from Trump for ABC to permanently cancel Kimmel.
“Another year is twisting those folks at Disney,” Letterman told Kimmel. “Good for you!”
Kimmel continued to take aim at Trump a few hours after his ABC deal extension was announced. The late-night host chided Trump for hosting the Kennedy Center Honors, where Trump called Kimmel a “horrible” TV host.
“He’s been boasting about hosting, saying, ‘We’ve never had a president host the Kennedy Center Honors before,’ which, yeah, why do you think that is?” Kimmel asked. “We’ve also never had Neil Patrick Harris order a military strike on a fishing boat before.”
Letterman was a late-night host for 33 years, first on NBC’s “Late Night” and then on CBS’ “Late Show.” He told Kimmel that he is pleased not to be on the air in the age of Trump.
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“No, I’m so glad to be out from under this mess, because people like you and people by like Stephen [Colbert] and people like Seth [Meyers] do such a masterful job of this, defending democracy,” Letterman said. “Thank God for you, thank God for others, ‘SNL,’ and everybody else. It’s just, I think it’s the way things need to be, in a democracy that’s seemingly this crippled.”
Watch Letterman’s full interview on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in the video below.
From Variety US