Jimmy Kimmel has criticised US President Donald Trump yet again, this time aimed at his handling of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host, 58, passed the fresh remarks during the opening monologue as he marked the fifth anniversary of the insurrection.
Reflecting on the day a pro-Trump mob stormed the US Capitol after the 2020 election, Kimmel said Trump tried to overturn a result that courts nationwide had confirmed as fair.
He called the effort an illegal attempt to stay in power, saying the facts leave no other reasonable interpretation.
Kimmel said the then–Vice President Mike Pence’s refusal to block Biden’s win angered Trump and helped spark the violence.
Kimmel said Trump watched the attack on TV for hours before finally telling rioters to leave. He called the delay “selfish,” “dangerous,” and an attack on democracy.
The late-night host also warned against what he described as attempts to rewrite the history of that day.
Kimmel’s remarks came just hours after the Trump administration launched a White House website revisiting January 6.
The site claims Democrats caused the “real insurrection” by certifying Biden’s win and calls the rioters “peaceful patriotic protesters.”
It also asserts that no law enforcement officers died as a result of the attack, despite the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick shortly afterward and the subsequent suicides of four officers who responded to the riot, as well as injuries to nearly 140 officers.
As one of his first acts upon beginning his second term in January 2025, Trump pardoned nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the attack.
The site further accuses former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of the House select committee that investigated January 6 of fabricating an “insurrection” narrative.
Pelosi spokesperson Ian Krager responded by calling the administration’s portrayal “shameful” and rejecting claims that Pelosi was responsible for Capitol security decisions.
Kimmel concluded his monologue by urging viewers not to forget the events of January 6, arguing that minimising or reframing the violence risks erasing its significance.
