'Exhausted' Jimmy Kimmel Says We 'Live in a Ridiculous Country' After Dissing Donald Trump at the 2026 Oscars

At the 98th Academy Awards on Sunday, March 15, late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel made a viral red-carpet comment, stating, "We live in a ridiculous country.”

Kimmel remarked to a Variety journalist who asked whether he was exhausted by the current state of the world.

The outspoken critic of President Donald Trump replied, “Yes, I’m exhausted. Of course. It’s ridiculous. We live in a ridiculous country. We always lived in a ridiculous country, but it was always ridiculous in a fun, Mr. T kind of way. Now we’ve got a different Mr. T. "

When asked if he was nervous, Kimmel laughed, “No, I’m not scared. No, I’m not scared. Am I hopeful? I’m always hopeful, yeah. I’m always hopeful.”

During the ceremony, the 58-year-old comedian served as a presenter and continued his critique of the current political and media landscape with several high-profile jabs.

While presenting the documentary awards, he took a sharp dig at CBS, grouping the network with North Korea as places that do not support free speech.

"We hear a lot about courage at shows like this, but telling a story that could get you killed for telling it is real courage," Kimmel told the Dolby Theatre's star-studded audience.

"As you know, there are some countries whose leaders don't support free speech," Kimmel continued. "I'm not at liberty to say which. Let's leave it at North Korea and CBS."

This was a reference to the recent cancelation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and censorship.

He also brutally mocked the widely panned Amazon documentary Melania.

"Fortunately for all of us, there's an international community of filmmakers dedicated to telling the truth, oftentimes at great risk to make films that teach us, that call out injustice, that inspire us to take action," Kimmel said. "And there are also documentaries where you walk around the White House trying on shoes."

After reading the nominees for Best Documentary Feature, he quipped that the former president would be "mad his wife wasn't nominated.”

This performance echoed his 2024 hosting stint, where he famously responded to a real-time social media taunt from the president, a 34-times convicted felon, by asking, "Isn't it past your jail time?"

Trump consistently targets Kimmel on Truth Social, calling him a "loser" with "no talent" and "horrible ratings," often urging networks to fire him.

A major escalation occurred in late 2025 when Jimmy Kimmel Live! was temporarily pulled off the air after the host made comments regarding the MAGA response to the assassination of MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk.

"We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it," Kimmel said.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr suggested punitive action against ABC and Disney, calling Kimmel's remarks "truly sick.”

Major affiliates like Nexstar and Sinclair initially pulled the show before ABC suspended it indefinitely on September 17. Kimmel was reinstated on September 23, 2025, returning with an emotional monologue where he refused to apologize but clarified his intent.