Jimmy Kimmel Says ‘It’s Almost Necessary Now’ to Trash Trump: ‘I Don’t Think You Can Go too Far’

Jimmy Kimmel participates in the "Jimmy Kimmel Live and 90th Oscars" panel durin
Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel says he has no regrets about ripping President Donald Trump on a near-nightly basis even if it turns off countless conservative viewers.

“A lot of people are going with this line of reasoning where they say, people in show business shouldn’t speak out about politics,” Jimmy Kimmel told in an interview with ABC News’ Paula Faris on Tuesday. “And yet … they elected Donald Trump the president of the United States. So I think that argument has pretty well jumped out the window.”

Most recently, the Live host has pushed political views like amnesty for illegal immigrants, gun control, and tax-payer subsidized healthcare — all while skewering President Trump and his supporters.

“I don’t think you can go too far,” Kimmel says of his politically charged rhetoric. “I’m still doing a comedy show and I need to be funny and entertain my audience, but I also think that we’ve matured enough … to the point where we can accept late-night talk show hosts speaking about a serious subject. And I think that it’s almost necessary now.”

The ABC star is set to return to host the 90th Academy Awards on Sunday and says he doesn’t have plans to crack jokes about Hollywood’s widespread sexual misconduct scandal during the show.

“This show is not about reliving people’s sexual assaults,” Kimmel said. “It’s an awards show for people who have been dreaming about maybe winning an Oscar for their whole lives. And the last thing I want to do is ruin that for someone who is nominated for, you know, best leading actress or best supporting or best director or cinematographer or whatever, by making it unpleasant.”

“I’m not going to stop any bad behavior with my jokes,” he said.

Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson

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