If there’s one thing Donald Trump is an avowed expert on, it’s filmmaking, as his movie career consisting of about 45 seconds of screentime across Home Alone 2 and The Little Rascals can attest to.
So naturally we were about as desperate to hear his take on the 2024 Oscars ceremony as we would be for a surprise root canal. And yet Donald, like an astronomically worse version of Angela Bassett, did the thing anyway and shared his not-so-hot take on Jimmy Kimmel’s hosting following the ceremony’s opening monologue on Mar. 10. Later on in the evening, Kimmel actually responded to the former president’s barb live on stage, and effortlessly turned the tables on Trump.
Towards the end of the 96th Academy Awards, Kimmel entertained the crowd by reading out Trump’s review of his hosting. Although many in the room, having been divorced from their phones all night, no doubt thought this was just a bit the post Kimmel quoted was indeed the real thing.
“Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars. His opening was that of a less than average person trying too hard to be something which he is not, and never can be,” Kimmel read from his phone. “Get rid of Kimmel and perhaps replace him with another washed up, but cheap, ABC ‘talent,’ George Slopanopoulos. He would make everybody on stage look bigger, stronger, and more glamorous… blah, blah, blah. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Kimmel paraphrased. And, yes, the real post does indeed end with the MAGA slogan. The host then joked: “See if you can guess which former president just posted that on Truth Social.”
Although Trump wasted 100 words in his waffling Kimmel criticism, the comedian only needed six to roast the Republican politician, earning an enormous laugh from the gathered crowd in the process. After thanking Donald for watching the ceremony, Kimmel quipped: “I’m surprised you’re still up. Isn’t it past your jail time?”
Yes, Kimmel reminded us that, with four criminal charges against him, Trump is guilty of more felonies than Emma Stone has won Oscars. The gag was an applause-worthy unscripted line from Kimmel, although honestly, he may have been anticipating some kind of reaction from Trump. Complaining about the Oscars seems to be one of his favorite hobbies, up there with getting spray tans and destabilizing democracy. In 2020, he hit back at Parasite winning the Best Picture award in a bizarre off-piste rant at a rally, blasting the Academy for choosing “a movie from South Korea. What the hell was all that about? We got enough problems with South Korea, on trade, and on top of it they give it the best movie of the year.”
It remains to be seen what Donald Trump’s thoughts on Oppenheimer winning Best Picture in 2024 are, but presumably, he would be more positive — maybe because, to him, it’s a triumphant hero’s journey and the feelgood film of the year.
