Jimmy Kimmel praises Indian news channel for fact-checking Donald Trump’s ‘clearly fake’ statements

‘Oh man, I hope he didn’t see the edited version of that interview,’ Kimmel said

Jimmy Kimmel has praised Indian news channel New Delhi Television for fact-checking Donald Trump’s “clearly fake” statements during a recent interview.

The former US president sat down for an exclusive interview with NDTV’s Sreenivasan Jain, which aired last week on Thursday (8 September).

“What has stood out [about the interview] is the fact-checking of every statement that the former US president makes,” NDTV’s Sarah Jacob said, referencing the international attention the channel’s interview has garnered on-air.

During the interview, Trump, 76, made several false claims, including that he “beat” president Joe Biden in the 2020 elections “by a lot”, and that he’s “leading in the polls” in the run-up to the 2024 presidential elections.

“Were you to run again, you think you could beat him?” Jain asked Trump at one point.

“Well, in the polls, I’m leading by a lot. I would think I’d beat him easily. I think I beat him last time...If you look at the numbers, if you look at what happened, I beat him by a lot,” Trump replied.

The screen then cuts to the findings of a poll by The Wall Street Journal which indicates “Joe Biden is actually leading Trump” in the 2024 race for presidency as of 1 September.

Addressing the interview during Sunday’s (11 September) episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the late night host said NDTV came up with a “new and fun way to fact-check him”.

“Can all Trump’s interviews be like this?” Kimmel quipped, adding, “He makes a clearly fake statement and cut to a graphic disproving it, with funky music behind it.”

During the interview, Trump doubled down on his claims that the 2020 election was “stolen” from him, after Jain pointed out that the key principle of a democratic election process is that the losing side concedes defeat.

“I agree,” Trump replied, adding, “When you lose.”

Another infographic is then displayed on screen, which shows the final tally of electoral college votes in the election. Trump won just 232 votes, while Biden had 306, Jain pointed out.

“Well yeah, sure. If you do the math,” Kimmel joked, addressing the segment, adding, “But what about the fact that Trump feels like he won? Doesn’t that count for anything.

Addressing the interview during Sunday’s (11 September) episode of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’, the late night host said NDTV came up with a ‘new and fun way to fact-check him’ (NDTV)

“Fibberacci also weighed in on the success of Truth Social, his wildly unsuccessful social media platform,” Kimmel pointed out, before leading into a clip of Trump telling Jain “it’s doing phenomenally well” during the interview.

In its fact-check, NDTV pointed out Truth Social is reportedly facing “serious” financial hardships, with an estimated $6m loss occurring “in the first six months of 2022”.

“Oh man, I hope he didn’t see the edited version of that interview,” Kimmel finished his segment, before one last joke at the former president’s expense.

“You know he heard New Delhi, and thought he was getting a big pastrami sandwich.”

During his interview with NDTV, Trump also reiterated his unproven claim that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) planted the documents that were found at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

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