Jimmy Kimmel explains why Trump's 'war with Twitter' is 'obviously insane,' doomed to fail

Jimmy Kimmel on Trump's new war on Twitter
(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Jimmy Kimmel Live)

"A lot of people are wondering which of the many changes we've made to our lives during this pandemic are going to carry over when things go back to normal," Jimmy Kimmel said on Thursday's Kimmel Live. "Will children still sit on Santa's lap at Christmas?" He explained why COVID-19 should definitely kill off the penny and maybe the nickel. "Meanwhile, this is what our penny-colored president is up to," Kimmel said. "While racial injustice is tearing this country apart, he is going to war with Twitter."

"Earlier this week, Twitter labeled one of Trump's many lies as potentially misleading," Kimmel explained. "He keeps claiming that vote-by-mail — even though he himself does it — will result in some kind of avalanche of anti-Trump voter fraud. It's part of his multi-pronged looks-like-I'm-gonna-lose-so-I'll-make-every-case-I-can-to-say-I-was-cheated campaign." In response, he signed an executive order that would limit legal protections for social media companies.

"This is crazy," Kimmel said. "This would be like if he declared war on Arby's because they said there were 550 calories in his curly fries. In a nutshell, the president is mad at an app on his phone and is using the power of his office to retaliate. This is what's on his mind as the death toll from a virus is over 100,000 now and people are rioting in the streets. He told reporters today he would shut down Twitter if his attorneys could find a way, because they're limiting his 'freedom of speech' — which is obviously insane. He is Mr. Twitter. And by the way, if he's so mad at Twitter, why doesn't he stop using it? He can't, because he loves it."

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Because "this has been another terrible week, and our government is terrible, and the world is terrible, and everything is terrible," Kimmel said, he did not want to end it on a down note. You can watch his alter-ego perform bad magic tricks below. Peter Weber

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Peter Weber, The Week US

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.