Jimmy Kimmel Speaks Out About America’s ‘Nightmare’ After Trump Inauguration

Jimmy Kimmel opened Monday’s (January 20) episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! by sharing his reaction to Donald Trump‘s inauguration, describing it as the event where “our long national nightmare was officially sworn in.”

“It was a very weird day in our country’s history today,” the late-night host began. “A day that was unimaginable four years ago and it’s still pretty hard to wrap your head around. THE GUY… ah, nevermind.”

Kimmel said he woke up Monday morning to find his son had peed in the bed and his dog had pooped on the floor outside his bedroom. “And that was just an appetizer for the rest of the day,” he quipped.

The comedian then referenced how President Trump celebrated the historic day by selling inauguration day Bibles and launching a new meme coin “to the tune of, some say, $41 billion.”

“He launched his own cryptocurrency days before he became president; I hope we all understand how crazy that is,” Kimmel continued. “The president of the United States following in the footsteps of the Hawk Tuah girl.”

Kimmel turned his attention to the ceremony itself, noting that due to the freezing temperatures in Washington, “they had to move the festivities indoors, which was actually better for Trump, harder for Melania to escape.”

He then touched on the tradition where the outgoing President and First Lady have tea with the incoming President and First Lady, “except for four years ago when Trump refused to do it.” Watching the footage of the meeting, Kimmel described Melania’s look as “goth Al Capone.”

“Overall, unlike the last time, there was a lot of respect paid to tradition,” he added. “Kamala Harris invited JD Vance to the Vice President’s residence at the Naval Observatory for a ceremonial humping of the Millard Filmore futon.”

Kimmel then focused on President Trump’s speech, noting, “It was not an uplifting, or even well-written speech. Trump said ‘the Golden Age of America begins right now’ twice… he bragged about a landslide victory that was in no way a landslide victory.”

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“A lot of people were wondering why all these rich guys were invited to sit in the Capitol for the inauguration, and there’s a perfectly good explanation for it,” he continued. “Trump is selling the country to the highest bidder.”

He added, “It really has been amazing to watch these powerful men, who don’t need to ever make another dollar in their lives, debasing themselves to suck up to this ridiculous person. But that’s why they’re billionaires, I guess.”

Of course, Kimmel couldn’t resist talking about the awkward almost-kiss between Trump and Melania. “Donald and Melania are very very much in love,” he said. “You can see here they had a very sweet moment, they shared an almost a kiss. I guess she didn’t want to mess up his makeup.”

You can watch Kimmel’s full opening monologue in the video above.

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