Seth Meyers and John Oliver told Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that he serves as their protection from President Donald Trump’s criticism of late-night television hosts.
Oliver said Kimmel’s name frequently comes up when he and Meyers do stand-up comedy shows together and take audience questions.
“Because they’ll normally say, like, how does it feel being, you know, disliked by the current president? And we always say as long as you’re on the air, we’re fine,” Oliver said.
“You draw all the ire,” Meyers added.
“We are fully supportive,” Oliver told Kimmel. “We are fully behind you the way that we’re fully behind a bulletproof vest.”
The three hosts speculated on why Kimmel in particular draws Trump’s attention. Meyers suggested Trump would actually want to spend time with Kimmel despite the criticism.
“I think he sees us as a couple of dorks, and even if we were fans of his, he would have no respect for us. But like, I’m sure he talks to people all the time about like, ‘Yeah, I think he has a pizza oven.’ … He’s heard you hang out with like, ‘You know, he knows Larry David and Conan, he’s got a lot of famous friends. His parties sound awesome,'” Meyers said, imitating Trump.
Kimmel noted that Trump rarely criticized former “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart, while he does occasionally target Meyers. Kimmel speculated that Trump mostly watches major broadcast networks and doesn’t subscribe to HBO, which airs Oliver’s show.
“He definitely doesn’t have Comedy Central. He has no idea, like most people, no idea where to find that,” Kimmel said.
Kimmel also suggested that Meyers’ late airtime might put him outside Trump’s viewing hours.
“I also think, just as late as he stays up, raging and tweeting and whatever it is he does, you’re on too late for him. I think you are past his bedtime.”
Meyers responded that when Trump does post about his show, it’s typically while the show is airing.
“I will say that when he posts about my show, it is always when it’s airing, and it means the world to me. And I don’t love that, but like that he’s watching linear television with the ads is so important,” Meyers said.
White House response
When Fox News Digital asked the White House for comment, spokesperson Davis Ingle criticized all three hosts.
“Seriously, unfunny Marble Mouth Meyers might be the dumbest and least talented television host in history. He clearly suffers from a severe and incurable disease known as Trump Derangement Syndrome that has completely rotted his peanut-sized brain,” Ingle said.
The White House also issued a statement about Oliver, calling him “a pathetic moron with a poorly rated TV show.”
Regarding Kimmel, the White House pointed to an earlier statement: “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 commonsense would ever watch him unless it was to laugh at his miserable failures.”
