Jimmy Kimmel wasted no time poking fun at Donald Trump after the former president claimed Americans might soon stop paying income tax altogether. Trump has been making big promises lately, many of which analysts say can’t actually be carried out. His newest idea is that tariffs are generating so much cash that they could supposedly replace the federal income tax.
According to Trump, the tariffs are bringing in “literally trillions of dollars,” and he said, “We’re going to be giving back refunds out of the tariffs because we’ve taken in literally trillions of dollars and we’re going to be giving a nice dividend to the people.” He even went further, adding, “I believe that at some point in the not too distant future, you won’t even have income tax to pay because the money we’re taking in is so great, so enormous, that you’re not going to have income tax to pay.”
Kimmel, who has been one of Trump’s most outspoken critics in late night TV, fired back immediately. “Well, he would know. He hasn’t paid income tax in like… maybe 50 years,” he joked during his monologue. He then asked his audience whether anyone really believed there would be no income tax. He compared Trump’s pitch to schoolyard politics, saying, “This is like the kid running for student council who promises soda in the drinking fountain. It makes no sense.”
The 58 year old host also took a swipe at Trump’s ongoing bragging about his cognitive abilities. Kimmel pointed out that Trump had been caught on camera appearing to nod off during a cabinet meeting with his team. He said, “Tell us again how sleepy Joe is, will you? Of course he’s tired, he was up all night posting. When he wasn’t sleeping, Ripped Tan Winkle was lying.”
Kimmel then listed off several of Trump’s other questionable claims. “He said grocery prices are down. They’re not down. He said he was cutting prescription drug prices by 900%, that’s ridiculous.” Kimmel added that during the “brief time he was conscious,” Trump still managed to pump out plenty of head scratching declarations. A clip was then aired of Trump saying he should “receive the Nobel Prize for every way.”
This isn’t the first time Kimmel has gone after Trump’s rhetoric. Over Thanksgiving weekend, he mocked a series of Trump’s Truth Social posts filled with dark, dramatic warnings about the state of the nation. Kimmel recited one of Trump’s lines, “‘Murdered, mugged, beaten, and laughed at?’ I hate to be the one to tell you, our country isn’t being laughed at, they’re laughing at you.”
Kimmel’s latest commentary struck the same tone: part disbelief, part exasperation and plenty of humour. He has made it clear that he’s not planning to let Trump’s big claims go unchallenged, especially the ones that seem untethered from reality. And judging from the audience reaction, plenty of Americans are more than willing to laugh along with him.