Jimmy Kimmel accused President Donald Trump of “wishing death to America” during Tuesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! after presenting controversial comments about Iran, Los Angeles, and San Diego without the broader context surrounding them.
During his monologue, Kimmel reacted to comments Trump made during an October 5 rally in Nebraska, where the president discussed the ongoing conflict with Iran and the economic costs Americans have faced as a result.
Kimmel characterized Trump as “openly musing” about Iran destroying two American cities.
“He’s talking about Iran bombing us,” Kimmel said before calling Trump’s remarks “one of the craziest, most indefensible statements” he had heard.
Kimmel later declared, “Now we have our own president wishing death to America.”
There’s just one major problem with Kimmel’s characterization: Trump appears to have been making the opposite argument.
Trump’s Full Context Tells a Different Story
Trump’s wording was unquestionably confusing, but the full passage provides important context for what he was discussing.
Speaking about the war and its effect on prices, Trump said: “Remember, with the war, it’s just artificial. It’s a little bit high. It’s a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe. They could take out a city. Let them take — let it — let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. That’s — this is a very small price to pay, and it’s going to be over with very soon. It’s essentially almost over with.”
That full sequence is important because the “small price to pay” Trump was discussing before mentioning Los Angeles and San Diego was the economic cost of the war, including higher gas prices — not the destruction of American cities.
That is also how FactCheck.org interpreted the remarks after examining their broader context. The organization acknowledged Trump’s wording was confusing but concluded that he did not appear to be advocating for Iran to attack American cities. Instead, it determined that the more plausible interpretation was that Trump was arguing higher gas prices were a small sacrifice compared to allowing Iran to become capable of threatening an American city.
President Donald Trump speaks at CPAC in 2017 – YouTube, The New York Times
READ: Walt Disney World Claims Cheapest Priced Tickets Have Not Increased — Good Luck Buying It
CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale reached essentially the same conclusion. Dale rejected the interpretation that Trump was describing the destruction of Los Angeles and San Diego as the “small price to pay,” pointing out that Trump has repeatedly described consequences of the war such as higher gas prices that way while contrasting them with what he says an unchecked Iran could potentially do.
The White House likewise said Trump was referring to the danger American cities could have faced from a nuclear-armed Iran. Communications Director Steven Cheung said Trump was “clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn’t been stopped.”
Trump’s previous statements bolster that interpretation.
In September, Trump made a similar argument while discussing preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, warning about the consequences of allowing Iran to eventually strike a city. He also previously described increased oil prices as a relatively minor concern compared with the potential consequences of a nuclear-armed Iran.
Kimmel Turns Confusing Remarks Into Something Else Entirely
None of that context appeared to temper Kimmel’s monologue.
Instead, the ABC late-night host portrayed Trump as casually contemplating the destruction of American cities and ultimately accused the sitting president of “wishing death to America.”
Kimmel then attempted to connect the controversy to the backlash he received earlier this year over his “expectant widow” joke involving First Lady Melania Trump, arguing that conservatives were displaying “hypocrisy” by criticizing his joke while defending Trump.
After playing clips of conservatives criticizing him over that joke, Kimmel responded, “That’s right. You know what? I’m going to report him to the FCC.”
Kimmel immediately acknowledged that he was joking before accusing his critics of applying a double standard.
Jimmy Kimmel jokes about the death of President Trump – Jimmy Kimmel Live!
“Now it’s a joke, before it was not a joke. The hypocrisy is so glaring, you can’t even turn your head toward it,” Kimmel said.
But that comparison depends heavily on Kimmel’s interpretation of Trump’s remarks being accurate.
Trump’s wording was clumsy enough to generate controversy, and critics are certainly free to condemn how he expressed himself. But there is a substantial difference between criticizing Trump’s choice of words and claiming the president was “wishing death to America.”
The broader context — including Trump’s own previous comments making essentially the same argument — provides important information Kimmel’s characterization left out.
And in this case, even an independent fact-check concluded that Trump’s critics were attributing a meaning to his words that the surrounding context simply doesn’t support.
How do you feel about Kimmel and his interpretation of these comments by President Trump? Sound off and let us know!
UP NEXT: Avengers: Endgame Re-Release Surpasses Supergirl’s Entire Worldwide Box Office Run
