Poll: Kimmel More Popular Than Trump; Ratings Fall

A YouGov/Economist poll after Jimmy Kimmel’s return found him with a net favorability of +3 versus President Trump’s -13, and other polling showed Kimmel at about 44% approval compared with Trump’s roughly 41%, which Kimmel highlighted on air. On the Sept. 23 episode — his first after a brief ABC/Disney suspension over comments about the Charlie Kirk assassination — Kimmel mocked Trump, reading a White House line ending “Sad!,” joking about a “toenail-in-a-salad,” comparing Trump unfavorably to Diddy and quipping that releasing the “Epstein files” would help his numbers. The comeback night drew roughly 6.3–6.48 million viewers, but Nielsen’s day-by-day data showed the audience fell to about 1.7 million by Oct. 1, a roughly 74% decline. Conservative critics, including Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet, said they were relieved Kimmel wasn’t canceled and argued lost viewership should be the consequence. The episode and its aftermath intensified partisan debate over late-night political commentary, media polarization and corporate responses to political pressure.