NEWSJimmy Kimmel Slams Donald Trump for Sharing AI Tiger Wrestling Video After Man Gets Mauled to Death: 'I'm Sure the Guy’s Family Was Thrilled'
Jimmy Kimmel mocked Donald Trump’s AI tiger video by revisiting footage of him flinching beside a bald eagle.
Oct. 18 2026, Published 6:08 a.m. ET
Jimmy Kimmel responded to President Donald Trump’s AI fantasy of wrestling a tiger with a clip that required no computer enhancement: Trump visibly flinching beside a bald eagle.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host revisited the footage on October 14 after Trump posted both video of former child actor William Chapman’s fatal tiger attack and an AI-generated clip portraying himself taming the animal.
Donald Trump Posts After a Fatal Mauling
Jimmy Kimmel criticized Donald Trump after the president shared an AI-generated video depicting himself wrestling with and taming a tiger.
Chapman, 23, was killed after climbing into a tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in the United Kingdom for reasons that remain unknown.
Trump shared footage of the attack on Truth Social without offering condolences, writing, “Don’t ever mess with nature!” He signed the post with his name, indicating that he had selected it himself.
The president subsequently posted an AI video showing him wrestling, rolling around with and eventually hugging a tiger as “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” played. The synthetic Trump also wagged his finger at the animal, echoing a gesture Chapman made in footage recorded before his death.
Jimmy Kimmel Addresses William Chapman’s Family
Jimmy Kimmel criticized Donald Trump's decision to share the videos and questioned the appropriateness of using the fatal incident as a setup for an AI-generated fantasy.
“I’m sure the guy’s family was thrilled to see Trump having fun with it, but he needed it to set up this delightful AI video,” Kimmel said.
The host then corrected himself: “I mean, sorry, SI video, of himself wrestling and ultimately taming a tiger of his own.”
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A Bald Eagle Tests Trump’s Courage
Jimmy Kimmel then revisited footage from Donald Trump's 2015 'TIME' magazine photo shoot with a bald eagle at Trump Tower in New York City.
Kimmel countered the digitally manufactured scene with video from Trump’s 2015 TIME Magazine photo shoot with a bald eagle at Trump Tower in New York.
“By the way, if you want to know how brave he really is around wild animals, this is from a photo shoot he did with an eagle,” Kimmel said.
The footage showed Trump jerking backward as the bird moved toward him.
Jimmy Kimmel joked that Donald Trump would supposedly be willing to wrestle a tiger, contrasting the president's AI-generated display of bravery with his real reaction to the bald eagle.
“Mr. Trump was a little hesitant holding the bird, so it was very tricky to get the bird to [stay] on his hand,” wildlife rehabilitator Jonathan Wood, the eagle’s handler, said at the time.
“Yes, he would definitely suplex a tiger,” Kimmel joked.
