Jimmy Kimmel says tyranny rising under Trump, taunts president over show's return

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel delivered a Christmas message in the U.K. attacking President Donald Trump, saying "tyranny is booming" in the United States while taunting him over the return of his show to the airwaves earlier this year.

Kimmel was selected to deliver Channel 4’s annual "Alternative Christmas Message" this year, a long-standing counter-programming speech that airs opposite the BBC's traditional Royal Christmas message.

"I do know what’s going on over here though, and I can tell you that, from a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year," Kimmel said. "Tyranny is booming over here."

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He told the audience that they may have read in the newspaper that "my country’s president would like to shut me up because I don’t adore him in the way he likes to be adored," and that the United States government "made a threat against me and the company I work for, and all of a sudden we were off the air."

"But then, you know what happened?" Kimmel asked. "A Christmas miracle happened. Well, it was September, it was a September miracle. But the holiday does seem to come earlier and earlier every year, doesn’t it? Millions and millions of people stood up and said: ‘No, this is not acceptable.'"

The late-night host claimed that even "people who were on record saying they hate my show" spoke out and marched in support of "the right to a free expression of speech," and because of these efforts, his show was brought back.

"Our show came back stronger than ever. We won, the president lost, and now I’m back on the air every night giving the most powerful politician on earth a right and richly deserved bollocking," he asserted. "That’s a word, right? I used it properly?"

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Kimmel told the audience that the reason he's telling this story is because they may be thinking: "Oh, a government silencing its critics is something that happens in places like Russia, or North Korea, or L.A., not the U.K.'"

"Well, that’s what we thought, and now we’ve got King Donny the Eighth calling for executions. It happens fast," he added.

He concluded his message by apologizing on behalf of the U.S., noting that Trump may think he's a "king" but does not represent all Americans.

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"We are not bright. We’re Americans. No one knows better than you, we’re always just a little bit late to the game, but do we come through in the end? Maybe. Give us about three years. Please. Thank you for your patience, and thank you for Spider-Man. Merry Christmas, and happy holidays," he finished.

When asked for comment by Fox News Digital, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson responded with the following: "Reacting to Jimmy Kimmel’s ‘Christmas speech’ would require me to watch it, and like many Americans, I didn’t even know it was happening. Jimmy has unfortunately wasted his time — yet again — doing something no one cares to watch. Merry Christmas!"

ABC and its parent company, Disney, temporarily pulled "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" off the air in September after the host suggested the suspected murderer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was a Trump supporter.

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Kimmel returned to the air the following week and said he never meant to make light of anyone's death or give a false impression.