White House Communications Director Steven Cheung called Jimmy Kimmel a “no-talent loser” after the late night host offered to give President Trump several of his entertainment industry awards in exchange for pulling ICE out of Minneapolis.
Kimmel made his offer during his “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” monologue Thursday night, in which he observed just how much the president “loves awards.” “Giving him an award, it’s the only way to get him to do anything,” the comedian noted.
With that in mind, Kimmel rolled out a number of the awards he has received over the years — including his 1999 Daytime Emmy for Best Game Show Host, his Clio Award, Writers Guild Award, 2015 Soul Train Award for “White Person of the Year” and even his Webby Award.
“Mr. President, I have an offer I think you’re going to find difficult to refuse,” Kimmel remarked. “If you — and only if you agreed to pull ICE out of Minneapolis and put them back at the borders where they belong — I am prepared to offer you one of the following trophies.”
Trump himself has not responded to the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” segment yet. But Cheung did Friday morning on X in a reply to a write-up of Kimmel’s monologue.
“Jimmy should hold on to those so he has something to pawn after his ass gets fired for being a no-talent loser with horrific ratings,” Cheung wrote on X. His comment echoes previous statements made by President Trump, who has called Kimmel talentless and deserving of being fired numerous times in the past.
Jimmy should hold on to those so he has something to pawn after his ass gets fired for being a no-talent loser with horrific ratings. https://t.co/g7ovQrpgJt
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) January 16, 2026
In December, however, Kimmel signed a one-year contract extension with ABC guaranteeing that he will continue to host “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” through at least May 2027.
Kimmel made his bold offer Thursday evening in response to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado‘s decision to present her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Trump. The symbolic gesture was made after reports surfaced suggesting that Trump had refused, in the wake of the U.S. military’s arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, to publicly back Machado as the country’s next leader because she had not given him her Peace Prize.
“Rarely does a president yank a Nobel Prize off of someone’s neck,” Kimmel said Thursday night. “He’s back in the Oval Office sucking on it like a pacifier right now. Look at how happy he is. Have you ever seen anyone happier than that for winning this prize? He didn’t even win.”
Despite his disapproval, Kimmel decided to follow Machado’s lead and offer up some of his own awards to the president: “The choice is yours … I will personally deliver any — or even all of these — to the Oval Office in exchange for leaving the people of Minneapolis alone.”
