Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Jimmy Kimmel urges viewers to vote ‘disgusting’ Trump out of office over George Floyd protest response

Kimmel described US president as a man who ‘clearly and intentionally inflames violence’

Adam White
Sunday 31 May 2020 14:43 BST
Comments
Jimmy Kimmel urges viewers to vote Donald Trump out of office

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Jimmy Kimmel has urged viewers to vote “disgusting” Donald Trump out of office following his response to the George Floyd protests.

On Friday’s episode of his US talk show (29 May), Kimmel expressed horror at Trump’s tweet about the protests, which included the phrase: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts”.

“Our disgusting excuse for a president, Mr Tough Guy, decides ‘I know what I’ll do, I’ll make this worse’,” Kimmel said. “At one o’clock in the morning, instead of trying to make peace, Donald Trump makes a violent threat.”

Kimmel continued: “Our president is threatening to order the military to shoot Americans, specifically black Americans. And then of course today, as he often does when he says something idiotic, he tried to reel that in. The sad thing about how much he lies is, he isn’t even good at it.”

Kimmel expressed disbelief that anyone could continue to support Trump after his tweets, describing the president as a man who “clearly and intentionally inflames violence in the middle of a riot to show how tough he is”.

“I don’t care what you are,” Kimmel added, “right, left, Republican, Democrat – I can’t imagine there are many of us who want that. Enough is enough. We’ve got to vote this guy out already.”

Trump’s tweet was placed behind a warning on Twitter following its publication, with the platform describing it as “glorifying violence”.

He later threatened protesters who had gathered outside the White House with “vicious dogs” and “ominous weapons”.

Protests have ignited across the US following the death of Floyd, who was killed by a white police officer who continued to kneel on his neck despite Floyd pleading for his life.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in