Page Six, citing sources speaking to the New York Post, reported that ABC does not plan to extend Jimmy Kimmel’s contract and that he is expected to leave after 24 years with the network. A source familiar with the situation told the Post, “His contract is not getting extended.” Those sources said the season that was set to start Tuesday would be the last, with a final episode in May 2027.

According to Mediaite, ABC rejected that account. A network spokesperson said the information is “inaccurate” and that any reports about the future of the show at this point are “purely speculative.” The spokesperson added, “This information is inaccurate – any reports about the future of the show at this point are purely speculative.”

Kimmel works under year-to-year deals with ABC. He did not discuss the contract story during Tuesday’s broadcast. He came back after a three-month summer break and taped the 4,000th episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The Tuesday show arrived only hours after the Page Six account became public. Sources who spoke to Page Six said Kimmel’s years of criticism of President Donald Trump were unlikely to explain the reported decision. One insider said Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro would not yield to pressure from Trump or his supporters and added, “He’s not afraid of the administration… Josh isn’t folding.”

A separate ABC source pointed to cost-cutting instead and said, “It wouldn’t have anything to do with Trump.” That person also said D’Amaro has been offering early-retirement packages to executives during a broader restructuring.

Kimmel used roughly 15 minutes of his opening remarks on Trump. He told the audience, “Donald Trump and I have one thing in common. We both accomplished nothing all summer long.” He said the country “was a mess” when he left in June, citing the war with Iran, rising gas prices, high inflation, and questions about whether Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell “was either alive or dead.”

He then offered a sarcastic update. “Now, only three months later, I’m so pleased to report that thanks to your favorite president, DJ Jazzy Donald, every one of those problems has been solved, we made America great again!” he said.

Kimmel turned to a reported $20 million Reflecting Pool project and called the site a “big green slop hole” while showing pictures of cloudy water. Kimmel’s critique of the project’s cost and appearance came as ABC News faces a lawsuit from the Trump administration over its reporting on the algae-covered Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation. 

He said, “The president had three months, spent 20 million dollars, and couldn’t even get a pool cleaned.” He continued, “I thought he was supposed to drain the swamp, he turned it into gravy instead,” and suggested Trump might have been filling the pool with Diet Coke.

He also said, “How are we supposed to win the war with Iran when we can’t even win the war against algae for God sake.” Kimmel said Trump’s poll numbers and “pool numbers” were at all-time lows and cited a 33 percent figure. He said the president was trying to “keep us from voting in the midterms.”

He then brought up Natalie Harp, an aide to Trump, after reports of handwritten letters and a photo of her driving a golf cart in heels. He said, “Would a president with historically low popularity number play golf instead of working over the weekend? I don’t know, would Natalie Harp drive a golf cart in high heels? You bet your chicken tenders they would.”

Kimmel said fuel prices reached an all-time high on Friday and that the Strait of Hormuz remained closed. “At this point, Blockbuster Video has a better chance of reopening than the Strait of Hormuz,” he said. He noted that Trump had declared victory on the war’s first day about six and a half months earlier and later described the fighting as “small potatoes.” Kimmel added, “No one knows more about small potatoes than a man who is built like a sack of wet tater tots.”

Because the episode fell on Labor Day weekend, Kimmel showed a 2024 Trump post blaming Kamala Harris for high gas, transportation, and grocery prices during the holiday. Kimmel said gas was $3.33 a gallon on Labor Day 2024 and $4.15 now, calling it the highest Labor Day gas price in U.S. history. 

He also said Trump posted 37 times on Sunday and closed the monologue with a compilation of what he called the best and worst moments of Trump’s summer 2026.

Kimmel has frequently criticized Trump, and Trump has criticized him in public. Last year, Kimmel drew backlash over comments related to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and was suspended for a week. Guest hosts recently appeared in his place, including Rosie O’Donnell. 

O’Donnell said, “I’ve been living in Ireland for the past two years because of Mango Mussolini. I read that Project 2025 and said, ‘Gotta get myself out of here.’ And I decided to go to Ireland, a place where people are driven to drink regardless of who’s running their country.”

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