Jimmy Kimmel Fires Back After Elon Musk Takes Shots At Him

Jimmy Kimmel delivered a pointed response to Elon Musk on Thursday, November 7, following a social media exchange in which the tech billionaire took aim at the late-night host.

The exchange began after Kimmel’s emotional monologue on Wednesday night, reacting to Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris in the election. The heartfelt speech quickly gained traction online, prompting Musk to respond on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, calling Kimmel “an insufferable nonsense propaganda puppet.”

Jimmy Kimmel, undeterred, addressed Elon Musk’s remarks directly on his talk show the following evening.

Unfazed, Jimmy Kimmel responded to Elon Musk’s remarks head-on, saying, “Last night, I shared some of my thoughts and feelings about what happened and how much I’m gonna miss democracy … and I heard from a lot of people about it, but none more prominent than the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, who this morning tweeted, ‘Kimmel is an insufferable nonsense propaganda puppet.’”

He then deadpanned, “At least my children like me” — before turning Musk’s words against him.

“The guy who paid people $1 million a day to vote for Donald Trump is calling me a propaganda puppet. Listen, Kermit, you bought Twitter, you bought a social media platform that is literally a propaganda machine,” he said. “If I spent two weeks trying to come up with a four-word description of Elon Musk, I don’t think I could do better than ‘insufferable nonsense propaganda puppet.'”

Kimmel then highlighted Musk’s tendency to label a wide range of sources as propaganda, showing past posts in which Musk used the term to describe outlets like the New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, and even the Associated Press.

Taking it a step further, Kimmel referenced an old post from Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform, where Trump claimed Musk had frequently asked him for assistance on various subsidized projects, including “electric cars that don’t drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere,” during Musk’s visits to the White House.

The late-night talk show host then claimed Musk told him “how he was a big Trump fan and Republican,” Trump added, “I could have said, ‘Drop to your knees and beg,’ and he would have done it.”

“You know what he means by beg,” Kimmel quipped. “I’m sure his little hand will fit nicely in your sock hole.”

Struggling to grasp the reality of the twice-impeached, convicted former president securing a second term over Vice President Kamala Harris, the 56-year-old comedian grew choked up as he spoke candidly about the impact of Trump’s victory.

“Donald Trump, he’s like the emperor from ‘Star Wars’: He’s old, he’s evil, and he keeps coming back with no reasonable explanation whatsoever,” Kimmel said, comparing the two. “Just when they finally scrubbed the last of the ketchup off those White House walls!”

“It was a terrible night last night. It was a terrible night for women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hard-working immigrants who make this country go,” Kimmel added as he began to get choked up. “For health care, for our climate, for science, for journalism, for justice, for free speech.”

As Kimmel spoke openly about the fears and anxieties shared by himself and many Americans, he sought to find a silver lining, suggesting that Trump might defy expectations by working across the aisle to tackle the pressing issues facing the country.

“He won’t, probably, but he could,” the late-night talk show host said. “Or maybe the only good part of all this is he can’t run again in 2028. I don’t know. Maybe next time the Republicans will nominate an orangutan for president. Why not? At least make it fun.”

Former President Trump is set to return to the White House as the 47th President of the United States, following a decisive Electoral College win over Vice President Kamala Harris.