Trump and Kimmel's clash steals spotlight at Oscars night

Jimmy Kimmel is among the most famous American hosts, mainly for his "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" show. The 96th Academy Awards ceremony was his fourth gala, which he hosted (he previously hosted this event in 2017, 2018, and 2023).

Kimmel, known for his sharp jokes, started this year's Oscars Night with a monologue full of gags, making fun of the Academy or certain actors sitting in the audience at Dolby Theatre. One of his jokes "victims" was Robert Downey Jr. Kimmel made a speech about the actor's career, referring to his drug addiction history. "This is the highest point of Robert Downey Jr’s career… well, one of the highest points," the host said.

At the end of the ceremony, Jimmy Kimmel appeared on the stage and told the audience that his performance had even been commented on by former US President Donald Trump, who now clashes with Joe Biden during the ongoing election campaign. Mr. Trump wrote quite a long post on the Truth Social platform criticizing Kimmel's show. The host decided to read the part of this comment and make fun of the former President.

"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. "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", Kimmel read. Then he skipped the rest of the post by saying: "Blah, blah, blah, Make America great again."

"See if you can guess which former president just posted that," he told the audience. Then he looked into the camera and asked Donald Trump, "Isn’t it past your jail time?" After these words, the public exploded with a huge laugh, and Kimmel again proved his jokes and retort skills.

Sources: New York Times, Variety, Independent