Jimmy Kimmel Makes ‘scary’ point about claim Trump ‘deteriorating mentally’

Jimmy Kimmel has described reports that Donald Trump is “deteriorating mentally” as “very scary,” mocking the former president following the release of Apprentice in Wonderland on Wednesday.

Written by Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief Ramin Setoodeh, the book takes a behind-the-scenes look at reality show The Apprentice, which Trump hosted from 2008 to 2015.

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday, Setoodeh recalled his experience of interviewing the 78-year-old. The journalist recently described the process as “challenging” because of Trump’s “meandering and confusing” stories.

Setoodeh told Kimmel that Trump often repeated himself while sharing anecdotes and that his stories had inaccuracies. One tidbit from the book to go viral is Trump’s reported claim that Joan Rivers voted for him in 2016, despite the comedian passing away in 2014.

“So he’s right. dead people are voting!” Kimmel quipped during the interview with Setoodeh, referencing Trump’s discredited election fraud claim. “Maybe she voted with her ouija board.”

Setoodeh said during one meeting with the business mogul, Trump seemed to think he was still president, stepping away from the interview to go and handle “the Afghanistan.”

“That’s gotta be his code word for the toilet, right? I gotta make the Afghanistan,” Kimmel joked.

“It’s very scary to think that the guy who was telling us to inject bleach into our veins is just now deteriorating mentally,” the 56-year-old continued. “That would mean that when he was drawing in Sharpie on the weather maps he was fine.”

Kimmel was referencing the Hurricane Dorian–Alabama controversy, also known as “Sharpiegate.”

As the hurricane neared the U.S. mainland in September 2019, the then-president held a briefing on the states most likely to be affected by the storm. Trump incorrectly included Alabama in this list, leading to a surge in Alabama residents calling the local weather bureau for clarification.

The weather service reassured residents that the state was unlikely to be impacted by Hurricane Dorian. However, Trump doubled down on his comments over the following week. This included showing reporters a weather map, with the hurricane’s passage seemingly altered with a black marker pen to encompass Alabama.

Kimmel’s Ongoing Feud with Trump Explained

Kimmel is a long-time critic of Trump. The pair have been embroiled in a public feud ever since the TV star mocked Trump’s White House bid on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The duo have continued to hit out at one another over the years, during public appearances and on social media.

While Kimmel was presenting the Academy Awards in March, Trump criticized the comedian’s hosting skills on Truth Social, the social network he founded after being banned from Twitter in 2021.

“Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars,” the Trump wrote during the show. “His opening was that of a less than average person trying too hard to be something which he is not, and never can be.”

“Get rid of Kimmel and perhaps replace him with another washed up, but cheap, ABC ‘talent,’ George Slopanopoulos,'” he said, seemingly referring to ABC News host George Stephanopoulos, who Trump has sued for defamation. “He would make everybody on stage look bigger, stronger, and more glamorous.”

Kimmel responded by reading the post out loud to the audience, sparking laughter from the crowd. In April, Trump still appeared to be mad about the slight, taking to Truth Social once again to attack Kimmel.

“Stupid Jimmy Kimmel, who still hasn’t recovered from his horrendous performance and big ratings drop as Host of The Academy Awards, especially when he showed he suffered from TDS, commonly known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, to the entire World by reading on air my TRUTH about how bad a job he was doing that night, right before he stumbled through announcing the biggest award of all, “Picture of the Year,”” Trump wrote.

“It was a CLASSIC CHOKE, one of the biggest ever in show business, and to top it off, he forgot to say the famous and mandatory line, ‘AND THE WINNER IS.'” Trump said. “Instead he stammered around as he opened the envelope.

“Supposedly his wife, and even management, begged him not to do it, ‘DON’T READ HIS TRUTH, JIMMY, PLEASE DON’T DO THIS,’ they said. He was made to look like a FOOL, which he is, and at the same time go down in Television History as the WORST HOST EVER OF THE ONCE VAUNTED ACADEMY AWARDS!”

In response, Kimmel dubbed Trump “Ranta Claus,” mocking the politician for seemingly confusing him with actor Al Pacino, who handed out the Best Actor award during 2024’s ceremony.

“We are different people,” Kimmel said during the April 17 episode of his show. “Now don’t get me wrong, I wish I was Al Pacino, I’m just not.”