Jimmy Kimmel urges Republicans not to vote for Donald Trump

A week before Election Day, Jimmy Kimmel made a serious appeal Tuesday night for moderate Republicans to reconsider voting for Donald Trump, using the former president's words to argue against his return to the White House.

The host of ABC's “Jimmy Kimmel Live” dedicated his opening monologue to repeating a series of bizarre and ridiculous “words that came out of his mouth” over the past nine years. He urged viewers to assess the 2024 presidential election campaign as being about “reason, security and democracy.”

“Here’s the thing. It's kind of funny – these silly, random rants of his – and it would be fine – if he hosted a podcast or sold knives at the farmers market. But he should guide us. People listen to him. And the country is getting crazier and crazier. Because he makes it okay to be crazy,” Kimmel said.

“Remember all the people waiting in Dallas for JFK Jr. and his father to come back to life – and then he would become Trump's vice presidential nominee in 1924,” Kimmel said, citing only one bizarre conspiracy theory circulating was trump. “Donald Trump is exactly the meeting point between QAnon and QVC.”

As a personal favor to her, Kimmel made it a point to encourage viewers to ask friends and family members of a Republican to watch his monologue. He introduced himself with a nod to “The Man Show,” the silly and second-rate unscripted comedy series he co-hosted with Adam Carolla for Comedy Central from 1999 to 2004.

“For those of you who never watch, I’m Jimmy Kimmel. Maybe you remember me from 'The Man Show,'” he said. “We had – we had a pretty good relationship back then. The beer, the trampolines… good times, right? We had fun.”

Kimmel pointed the finger at himself as he addressed the bitterness of the country's current political and cultural divisions.

“But times are less fun now. Only a week until the election and we are very divided. And not just because of Donald Trump, but because of people like me – if I'm honest,” he said. “I often make fun and belittle people… and that's not always productive. Am I biased against Donald Trump? Yes. Do I think I have good reasons to be biased towards him? Yes. And I’m probably wrong – but I think if you hear some of these reasons, you might – you might agree with me – at least a little.”

Kimmel listed the many former Trump allies and Cabinet members who have strongly disavowed him. He pointed to the Trump campaign's rally Sunday night at Madison Square Garden, where a speaker, Tony Hinchcliffe, uttered racial slurs, igniting a firestorm among Puerto Rican voters.

“But if you need more – I would suggest you watch his rally at Madison Square Garden – or listen to all three hours of his interview with Joe Rogan. Because most elections are about politics. This is not the case. This is about mental health. And security. And democracy,” Kimmel said.

“You know, I saw a T-shirt the other day that said, ‘I support Trump because he pisses off the people who piss me off.’ And it’s funny. And I understand. Sometimes it feels like no one has a sense of humor anymore. But is that really all we want for America? Should we annoy each other? I don’t want that.”

The monologue ended with Kimmel introducing his longtime pal Guillermo Rodriguez to bolster his arguments that Trump's radical immigration agenda is anti-American.

“This is Guillermo. He is an immigrant – he became an American citizen. And that’s a toast – to our fellow Americans,” Kimmel said as the two raised large beer mugs.