Jimmy Kimmel loves the new Trump phrase 'alternative facts,' lists some of his own
Last weekend was the debut of "our new celebrity a-president," Jimmy Kimmel said on Monday's Kimmel Live, "and you know how sometimes there's a lot of hype for something and then when it finally happens, it disappoints? Well, that was certainly not the case for President Donald John Madden Trump this weekend — he is off to a flying start."
Kimmel started with Trump's make-up visit to CIA headquarters, where he talked about everything from his "genius" uncle and his own intelligence to the number of times he's been on the cover of Time. But mostly Trump berated the media for saying he had a small crowd at his inauguration. "He is so focused on size — nobody asked him about that, by the way, he brought it up," Kimmel said. "He's focused on the size of his crowds, the size of his ratings, the size of his hands, the size of, well, everything. And again, he's there to make peace with the CIA but he couldn't help himself, he had a crowd and he just started going. Instead of the CIA, he should be talking to a C-I-chiatrist."
Kimmel thanked the audience for laughing at his dumb joke, then shook his head: "Who cares? He won the election — it's such a tiny thing to be mad about, but he was so mad he made his press secretary — this guy, Sean Spicer, who hadn't even had his first press conference yet — he made him gather the press, immediately on a Saturday, to yell at them." He showed the clip." No one had numbers, but it was the largest, period," Kimmel repeated, laughing. "That poor bastard doesn't even know where the coffee machine is yet, he's already having to yell at everybody." Kellyanne Conway "managed to top that" on Sunday, with her "alternative facts" line, Kimmel said. "Not since 'consciously uncoupled' have I heard something as conveniently skewed as 'alternative facts.' I wish I'd known about alternative facts when I was in high school — I would have had straight As." He finished with some "alternative facts" about himself, including some exaggerated audience estimates and other... things. Watch below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The launch of the world’s first weight-loss pillSpeed Read Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been racing to release the first GLP-1 pill
-
Maduro’s capture: two hours that shook the worldTalking Point Evoking memories of the US assault on Panama in 1989, the manoeuvre is being described as the fastest regime change in history
-
Six sensational hotels to discover in 2026The Week Recommends From a rainforest lodge to a fashionable address in Manhattan – here are six hotels that travel journalists recommend for this year
-
‘One Battle After Another’ wins Critics Choice honorsSpeed Read Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won best picture at the 31st Critics Choice Awards
-
A peek inside Europe’s luxury new sleeper busThe Week Recommends Overnight service with stops across Switzerland and the Netherlands promises a comfortable no-fly adventure
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
