What To Know
- After Democrats’ midterm success, Jimmy Kimmel speculated that President Trump might leave office early.
- Kimmel questioned the timing of Trump’s order to preserve his gold-decorated Oval Office.
- The late-night host also called out Trump’s hypocrisy for his changes to the White House East Wing.
After Democrats gave Republicans a thorough spanking in the midterm elections, Jimmy Kimmel wondered whether President Donald Trump might be considering an early departure from the White House.
“Trump signed his first proclamation since the bloodbath on Tuesday and it is to turn the Oval Office into a national monument so that no future president can remove any of his crap,” the late-night host said on Thursday’s (November 5) edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order to prevent future presidents from making changes to his gold-plated Oval Office. “We’re making it a national monument, and it will not be allowed to be touched by anybody, destroyed, ripped down by stupid people, in order to build something in a slightly different shape,” the president told the press.
“That’s right. His historic Diet Coke button will be preserved for many generations to come,” Kimmel quipped. “I guess he really wants to make sure nobody lays a finger on all the beautiful new sconces and knickknacks he had spray-painted gold… he turned the Oval Office into the gift shop at the Liberace Museum!”
“And now he wants to keep it like that forever. He doesn’t want anyone to change it… ever,” Kimmel continued before speculating why Trump would sign this order at this particular moment. “Why do this now? Why do this right after the midterms?”
“Maybe he’s planning to leave sooner than we think?” Kimmel posited, prompting a shocked reaction from the studio audience, including a few audible “whoas.”
The comedian aired a clip of Trump telling reporters that nobody will be able to come in and change his self-styled Oval Office, which he described as an important “landmark.”
“Yeah, it’s a landmark and a skidmark,” Kimmel joked.
Whether Trump steps down before the end of his term or sees it out until the bitter end, Kimmel warned, “Let me tell you something, buddy… on January 20th, 2029, we are going to yank that crap down and throw it out faster than Melania moves back to New York.”
Kimmel also noted Trump’s hypocrisy, saying, “This is the guy that also tore down the East Wing of the White House, which is already a landmark, without asking! He’s being sued for that by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He’s being sued by, I think, eight preservation and architectural organizations for his rampage at the Kennedy Center.”
“But the Oval Office… he’s all of a sudden MC Hammer,” Kimmel continued. “Can’t touch this!”
You can watch the full opening monologue in the video above and let us know your thoughts below.
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, ABC