Late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel shared his thoughts about the White House throwing U.S. President Donald Trump’s name into the ring as the search for the new James Bond begins.
On Saturday, the White House’s official X account reacted to the announcement that Amazon is searching to find its next 007 by sharing a black-and-white image of Trump dressed in a tuxedo while holding a pistol with a silencer.
Kimmel shared his thoughts on the White House’s fan-casting during an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
“The White House jumped on the crazy train and posted this, suggesting that Trump would be the next James Bond,” he said as he shared the image on screen. “Grab him by the octopussy! We got a new James Bond in town.”
“I think 007 is his approval rating right now,” Kimmel added.
Kimmel went on to reference one of Trump’s recent posts from Sunday in which he shared an AI image of himself walking alongside a handcuffed alien.
“Imagine a very unpopular president, in the middle of a very unpopular war, the cost of everything is skyrocketing, gas is very expensive and you are spending your time posting online about how hot you are, how you captured an alien and how you should be the next James Bond,” Kimmel said.
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Kimmel’s comments come after Canadian director Denis Villeneuve and Amazon MGM Studios announced that they are currently searching for an “unknown British actor” to play the next James Bond.
“The search for the next James Bond is underway,” Amazon MGM Studios said in a statement to Variety. “While we don’t plan to comment on specific details during the casting process, we’re excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right.”
Kimmel has frequently criticized Trump during his opening monologues of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Most recently, Kimmel responded to Trump’s call for him to be “immediately fired” after he called the president’s wife, Melania Trump, an “expectant widow” during a segment that aired two days before a gunman opened fire outside the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Kimmel responded to both Trump and Melania during his opening monologue of Jimmy Kimmel Live! after they both called for ABC to take action against the host.
“You know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and the first lady puts out a statement demanding you be fired from your job? We’ve all been there, right?” Kimmel began.
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“I greeted the day facing yet another Twitter vomit storm and a call to fire me from our first lady, Melania Trump, saying I should be fired because of a joke I made again five nights ago. It was a pretend roast. I said, ‘Our first lady, Melania’s here. Look at her. So Beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,’” Kimmel said. “It obviously was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together.”
Kimmel said the Trumps’ calling for him to be fired is like ‘”déjà vu’ today with all the news channels talking about this.”
“It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am,” he added. “It was not by any stretch a call to assassination and they know that I’ve been very vocal for many years, speaking out against gun violence in particular.”
Kimmel said he agrees “that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Kimmel, “who is in no way funny as attested by his terrible Television ratings,” made a statement on Jimmy Kimmel Live! “that is really shocking.”
Trump said he appreciated that “many people” are “incensed by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence, and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said but, this is something far beyond the pale.”
“Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC,” Trump added.
Trump’s latest call for ABC to fire Kimmel comes after his future looked questionable in September 2025, when ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! for remarks made following the killing of right-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk, who died after being shot at a Turning Point USA rally on Sept. 10. Following a public outcry, ABC lifted the suspension, and Kimmel returned to the air.
— With files from Reuters
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