Jimmy Kimmel | Shutdown For What? (Extended)

Summary

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The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert

Episode: Jimmy Kimmel | Shutdown For What? (Extended) – October 1, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of The Late Show Pod Show is a lively blend of sharp political satire, pop culture commentary, and behind-the-scenes camaraderie. Stephen Colbert opens with an extended monologue dissecting a looming government shutdown and recent controversial statements made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump. The episode’s heart lies in Colbert’s heartfelt and humorous interview with fellow late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, marking Kimmel’s first interview since his temporary suspension from ABC. The two trade stories about the unpredictability of late-night television, their personal reactions to industry turmoil, and the meaning of their long-running shows.

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Main Segments & Key Discussion Points

I. Monologue & Political Satire

[03:57–18:07]

Government Shutdown Looms

• Colbert highlights the immediate threat of a government shutdown due to Republican Party infighting, poking fun at the impact on civil services.
• He lampoons the concept of “essential workers” having to work without pay, quipping about surly TSA employees.
  • Quote: “I just wish this TSA worker groping my junk was also angry.” (04:48)

Pete Hegseth’s Military Rhetoric

• Covers Defense Secretary Hegseth’s speech to assembled military brass, mocking its hyper-masculine tone, anti-climate change stance, and attacks on DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) initiatives.
• Notably ridicules Hegseth’s focus on physical fitness and statements against “fat generals.”
  • Quote: Pete Hegseth: “It’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals…in the halls of the Pentagon.” (10:47)

Trump’s Address to the Generals

• Trump enters, met with silence, and awkwardly invites generals to “do anything you want.”
  • Quote: Donald Trump: “If you want to applaud, you applaud. And if you want to do anything you want, you can do anything you want.” (13:06)
• Discusses “two N words” (nuclear and the slur), leading to comedic confusion.
  • Quote: “There are two N words and you can’t use either of them.” (13:55)
• Trump’s odd asides about stairs, paper, battleships, and calls for a military “quick reaction force” to address domestic unrest.
  • Quote: “We’re considering the concept of Battleship.” (16:36)
  • Quote: “It’s the enemy from within and we have to handle it before it gets out of control.” (17:22)

Colbert’s Satirical Touch

• Colbert expertly blends real news with absurdist humor, highlighting the bizarre nature of recent political events and the challenges for late-night satire in unpredictable times.

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II. Jimmy Kimmel Interview: Late-Night Life Under Fire

[19:16–31:44]

Returning From Suspension

• Kimmel recalls being suddenly suspended by ABC over concerns about show content, detailing the moment he got the call and the emotional fall-out.
  • Quote: “I thought, that's it. It’s over. I’m never coming back on the air.” (21:49)
• The audience already seated, staff confused, and a musical guest (Howard Jones) left to perform “Things Can Only Get Better” for the crew after the public had been sent home.
• Shares how paparazzi and helicopters followed him home post-suspension; describes chaos and tenderness with his family during the ordeal.

Support and Connection in Late Night

• Colbert and Kimmel trade stories about support messages received after their respective cancellations, with both highlighting comforting texts from James Taylor.
  • Quote (Kimmel): “I did hear from literally everyone I have ever met. I heard from, like, the guy who picked me up at the airport in Nashville 15 years ago.” (25:27)

The Experience of Hosting

• Addresses the privilege and grind of hosting nightly shows.
  • Quote (Colbert): “We took 20 years to put this team together, and I’m so honored to be one of them.” (28:24)
  • Both express deep appreciation for their staff and the familial bond within their teams.

Trump’s Public Schadenfreude

• Kimmel reacts to Trump celebrating his suspension and the wider staff layoffs in late night.
  • Quote (Kimmel): “I never even imagined there would ever be a situation in which the president of our country was celebrating hundreds of Americans losing their jobs.” (29:47)

Lighthearted Camaraderie

• Kimmel jokes about Colbert’s upcoming last season, wondering how wild he’ll get in his remaining eight months.
  • Gift exchange: Kimmel presents Colbert with a custom Lady Liberty bong—a cheeky nod to New York and late-night freedom.
• The hosts celebrate with mock toasts and inside jokes, reinforcing the spirit of late-night unity.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote/Description | |-----------|---------|-------------------| | 07:18 | Jimmy Kimmel | (Joking as Pete Hegseth struggles for a reaction): “Fafo.” | | 10:47 | Pete Hegseth | “It’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon.” | | 13:06 | Donald Trump | “If you want to applaud, you applaud. And if you want to do anything you want, you can do anything you want.” | | 13:55 | Donald Trump | “There are two N words and you can’t use either of them.” | | 16:36 | Donald Trump | “We’re actually considering the concept of Battleship.” | | 21:49 | Jimmy Kimmel | “I thought, that's it. It’s over. I’m never coming back on the air.” | | 25:27 | Jimmy Kimmel | “I did hear from literally everyone I have ever met...” | | 28:24 | Stephen Colbert | “This is the greatest group of people I’ve ever worked with. We took 20 years to put this team together, and I’m so honored to be one of them.” | | 29:47 | Jimmy Kimmel | “I never even imagined there would ever be a situation in which the president of our country was celebrating hundreds of Americans losing their jobs.” | | 32:55 | Kimmel & Colbert | Gift of Lady Liberty bong; light-hearted, symbolic late-night friendship. |

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Tone and Atmosphere

• The episode is classic late-night: irreverent, sharp, and self-aware, balancing laughter and genuine sentiment.
• Colbert’s deadpan delivery contrasts Kimmel’s wry storytelling, their warmth and mutual respect shining through particularly in candid moments about career uncertainty and personal impact.
• The collective dismay at the normalization of political chaos is lightened by running gags, affectionate ribbing, and recurring reminders of the late-night community’s resilience.

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Quick Reference of Key Segments

• 00:00–03:19: (Ads / Sponsor banter)
• 03:57–18:07: Monologue — Government shutdown, military speeches, Trump antics
• 19:16–31:44: Conversation with Jimmy Kimmel — Suspension, family stories, support among late-night hosts, reflections on the job, staff appreciation, quips about President Trump
• 32:10–35:41: Gift exchange, closing jokes, camaraderie celebration

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For late-night fans and political satirists alike, this episode is both a topical time capsule and an enduring tribute to the community spirit behind the comedy.

Transcript

[Stephen Colbert]

Hey, everybody. Stephen Colbert here about to read the copy for our sponsor. This is from our friends at Wonderful Pistachios. And I was the wonderful pistachio spokesman for years. Yeah, I have a real close association with nut meat. Okay. You know what they say when they reach for a snack? Don't hold back. And that's exactly the approach with Wonderful Pistachios. The don't hold back snack. These little wonders are so tasty, it feels like getting away with something. But surprise. Each serving has 6 grams of protein and 0 grams of regret. That's right. No guilt. Just glory, glory in our nuts. Whether it's a satisfying crack of in shell pistachios, and that's capitalized in shell, or the smooth, instant gratification of no shells. No judgment. That's just it. Just eat. No judgment. I take issue with one thing. It's instant gratification. It's super tasty smooth.

[Guillermo]

It's a hard nut smooth.

[Stephen Colbert]

Exactly. I mean, even out of the shell, it's still a nut.

[Guillermo]

We can't disparage the nuts.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

You.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm not disparaging the nut. I'm describing the nut.

[Guillermo]

Don't disparage any flavors.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm not. I am celebrating the pistachio right now. I'm on board. I love pistachios. I love. I love crushed pistachio. Like a pistachio crusted trout. Oh, unbelievable. Instead of a trout amandine, a trout pistachio. Fantastic. Enough butter?

[Donald Trump]

Who cares?

[Guillermo]

Very good.

[Stephen Colbert]

And I love pistachio ice cream.

[Guillermo]

Have you had the sea salt and vinegar? Wonderful pistachio. It's delicious. I get them.

[Stephen Colbert]

I didn't even know I get them.

[Guillermo]

Before the softball games.

[Stephen Colbert]

But that's. You see, it's been a while since I've been the spokesman for wonderful pistachios. I didn't realize we'd achieved new pistachio technology.

[Guillermo]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

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[Guillermo]

That was a wonderful.

[Stephen Colbert]

I wonder what more there is to learn. We just told them so much. We just told them so much about pistachios. But evidently there's a whole other world. There's an unexplored vista.

[Guillermo]

They got a bunch of flavors. They got dill pickle, jalapeno lime, as we learned, smoky barbecue. There's a lot of different flavors.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. And I would not disparage any of them.

[Guillermo]

No, no, no.

[Stephen Colbert]

Bring it on.

[Guillermo]

Nothing bad to say.

[Stephen Colbert]

Nut me, nut. Nut me with nut meat.

[Guillermo]

We're nut.

[Stephen Colbert]

No, we got nothing but nut. Nutty, nutty, nutty, nutty. Talk about, talk about, talk about, talk about nutty.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Good.

[Guillermo]

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[Stephen Colbert]

Welcome one and all to the Late Show. I'm your host, Stephen Colbert. Ladies and gentlemen. Folks, you know this. Yeah, I'm sure you know this. With Donald Trump as president. There are days that make you go, whoa. And there are days that make you go, oh, my God. And then there are days that make you go, whoa, my God. Today was one of those days. In fact, the light hearted story to start our monologue tonight is that it looks like the federal government, which is entirely controlled by the Republican Party, is going to shut down in about 20 minutes. Anything, let me know. Let me know if anything changes, okay? If so, it will cut a lot of important services and put a lot of people out of work. But not everyone. Air traffic controllers and most TSA employees are considered essential workers and. And have to stay on the job, even if that means working without pay. Which, of course, which is perfect for anyone who's ever said, I just wish this TSA worker groping my drunk was also angry. Like plucking an orange. Now, the darker story this evening involves Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Today, Hegseth gathered our top generals. That was a little late. Today he gathered our top generals down to Quantico for an unusual speech. Here's how one military analyst described it. Here's what happened. I like the new uniforms. Here's what happened. Last Thursday, Hegseth called hundreds of generals and admirals from all over the world from their very important jobs in for a meeting in Virginia. The event was livestreamed, but Hegseth was dead set on getting everyone in the same room. According to one source, it's meant to be an eyeball to eyeball kind of conversations. He wants to see the generals. Okay, that's it. The male loneliness epidemic has gone too far. Join a bowling league, for Pete's sake. Once the meeting started, Hegseth emphasized that our leaders needed a hyper serious, no nonsense approach to war fighting. Take a look online. Skateboardacademy.com. thank you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Was that the wrong tape? Was that the wrong tape? My fault. Sorry. We had the wrong tape. That's actually Hegseth slamming his nards with a skateboard when he hosted a weekend morning show. Still more dignified than what he did today, because in the actual speech, Hegseth went five star douche. And at one point pegged the camera with what he was sure was going to be an applause.

[Pete Hegseth]

Should our enemies choose foolishly to challenge us, they will be crushed by the violence, precision, and ferocity. The War Department, in other words, to our enemies.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Fafo.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh. Oh, no. I know that feeling. I've been there. I can commit. When you think it's gonna land, that quiet crowd really hurts. I mean, it happens to a lot of people. It reminds me when Queen played Wembley. Hegseth went all in on what he calls his warrior ethos.

[Pete Hegseth]

Today is another liberation day. The liberation of America's warriors in name, in deed, and in authorities. You kill people and break things for a living.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'll say it. The Democrats have got to turn down the temperature on their violent rhetoric.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Now. I know.

[Stephen Colbert]

I know. Ao. Ayo. Ao. Yeah. You guys are great. Thank you. Now I know, I know, I know this all sounds bad, but it is bad. However, not as bad as when he endorsed war crimes.

[Pete Hegseth]

We also don't fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our war fighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt, and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, so no rules of engagement, but you know what they say? Join the military and see the world. Including, apparently, the Hague. Now, on account of the Hague. The Hague. SecDef Hegsef gathered our Most important generals for a good reason. And one day we'll find out what that was. Because mostly he said stuff like this.

[Pete Hegseth]

No more climate change worship. No more division distraction or gender delusions. No more debris. As I've said before and will say again, we are done with that.

[Stephen Colbert]

Whoa. Gosh. Did you hear that? Five star generals. Pete did a swear. He is cool. You know, I hear he has like 10 playboys under his mattress. It's awfully lumpy for Pete. For SecDev Pete, it's all about plain spoken shoot from the hip man guy doing.

[Pete Hegseth]

We just have to be honest. We have to say with our mouths what we see with our eyes to just tell it like it is in plain English to point out the obvious things right in front of us.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay, you suck monkey butt. Right in front of us. A big part of Hegseth's warrior ethos is about image.

[Pete Hegseth]

Frankly, it's tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation and see fat troops. Likewise, it's completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon. It all starts with physical fitness and appearance. If the Secretary of War can do regular hard pt, so can every member of our joint force.

[Stephen Colbert]

Damn straight. In fact, let's see Pete do some of his regular pt. Technically. In that case, PT stands for Pound testicle. And I will say this for Hegseth. He never skips nut day. He also took the time to go after DEI initiatives.

[Pete Hegseth]

An entire generation of generals and admirals were told that they must parrot the insane fallacy that our diversity is our strength. Of course we know our unity.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah, he's right. A good team is where everyone brings exactly the same set of skills. Like in that heist movie, Ocean's Eleven. George Clooneys. I'd watch it then be fun. Then it was time for the officers to hear from a true paragon of masculine fitness. Donald Trump. Fat generals. No fat generals. Meet Captain Cankles, by the way. I don't know if you noticed how he was walking there, but that shamble up to the mic. But it was about as high as his energy got for the whole day. The President is so anti woke, he's barely conscious. He loves a rally crowd though. He loves a rally crowd though. Hey oh hey oh. But he loves a rally crowd. But traditionally, the senior leadership of the US military never claps for political speeches. That's the tradition. They're supposed to be non partisan and sit there stone faced. It's like doing stand up for Easter island heads. So Trump didn't love the crowd.

[Donald Trump]

I've never walked into a room so silent before. You know what? Just have a good time. And if you want to applaud, you applaud. And if you want to do anything you want, you can do anything you want. And if you don't like what I'm saying, you can leave the room.

[Stephen Colbert]

Roger that. I'm sorry. Oh, you mean the generals. You mean the generals. I forgot. I have, I have to. Til May. I forgot. Okay. Yeah, okay. Now look, I know what you're saying. You're saying Steve Trump may have no sense of discipline or decorum, but at least he didn't assemble every general in the world to bring up the N word. There's that to hold onto, right? Wrong. Here he is talking about the nuclear.

[Donald Trump]

We can't let people throw around that word. I call it the N word. There are two N words and you can't use either of them.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yep. No, that's right, folks. There's two N words. One you can never use and the other you can only use if you're doing karaoke. She take me money now. That's my impression of Trump during his impression of Jamie Foxx, his impression of Ray Charles. Thank you very much. Trump talked about how America is respected.

[Donald Trump]

Again, we were not respected with Biden, they looked at him falling downstairs every day. Every day the guy's falling downstairs. I'm very careful. You know, when I walk downstairs, like I'm on stairs, like these stairs, I'm very, I walk very slowly. You don't have to set any record.

[Pete Hegseth]

Be cool.

[Donald Trump]

Be cool when you walk down, but don't, don't bop down the stairs. So one thing with Obama, I had zero respect for him as a president, but he would bop down those stairs. I've never seen. Da, da, da, da, da, da, bop, bop.

[Stephen Colbert]

What the hell are you talking about? Obama. Obama. Can we see footage of Obama going down the stairs? Okay, I stand corrected. I was wrong. I'm sorry. Of course, when you call in generals from every corner of the world, you don't just talk about stairs, you talk about office supplies.

[Donald Trump]

When I have a general and I have to sign for a general because we have beautiful paper. They're gorgeous paper. I said throw a little more gold on it. They deserve it. I want to use the big, beautiful, firm paper.

[Stephen Colbert]

What, what, what is. And why is the paper like this? What is. I don't understand. What paper? What paper goes like this? Can we see? I'm sorry, can we. What is this? Can we see the big Beautiful firm paper he's talking about. There you go. Okay, that makes sense. There you go. We'll be. Trump then turned his attention to modernizing the Navy.

[Donald Trump]

Those ships, some people would say, no, that's old technology. I don't know. I don't think it's old technology when you look at those guns, but it's something. We're actually considering the concept of Battleship.

[Stephen Colbert]

Battleship. We're also considering the concept of Twister, the notion of Hungry Hungry Hippo, and of course, Yahtzee. Or in my case, Neo Yahtzee. So far, so nuts. But Trump also went very dark at times, warning the military brass about America's number one enemy Americans.

[Donald Trump]

Last month I signed an executive order to provide training for quick reaction force that can help quell civil disturbances. This is going to be a big thing for the people in this room because it's the enemy from within and we have to handle it before it gets out of control.

[Stephen Colbert]

What do you a quick reaction force to handle the enemy within. How would we even know who that enemy is? Do we expect them to just come out and identify themselves?

[Donald Trump]

You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in.

[Stephen Colbert]

I guess so. We got a great show for you tonight.

[Guillermo]

Coming up, Jimmy Kimmel.

[Stephen Colbert]

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[Jimmy Kimmel]

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[Guillermo]

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[Stephen Colbert]

You know Lewis, here's the thing, here's the thing about doing one of these shows. It's such a privilege. So few people know what it's like to do one of on nightly basis. The privilege of it, the grind of it and all that kind of stuff. Yep. Well, I'm happy to say ladies and gentlemen, my first guest tonight knows what it's like. He's a very funny comedian who is the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Please welcome back to the late show my friend and yours, Jimmy Kimmel.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Hi.

[Stephen Colbert]

Thanks for being here.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Thank you for having me. I am so honored to be here with my fellow no talent late night loser. It's no doubt to stick together, you know.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, we're honored. We're honored here because this is the first interview you've done since September 17th when you found out that you had been indefinitely suspended.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

That's right.

[Stephen Colbert]

Thankfully. And as you said, you got back on the air a week later. And I'm curious, what have you recovered from that emotional roller coaster yet?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

It was an emotional roller coaster. I know you hear that a lot, and it really was. It was very strange. You want to hear the whole thing?

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah, of course. So how'd you find out?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Okay, so it was around. It was about 3 o'. Clock. We tape our show at 4:30. I'm in my office, just typing away, as I usually do. I get a phone call. It's abc. They say they want to talk to me. This is unusual. As far as I knew, they didn't even know I was doing a show previous to this. So I have a lot of people. I have like five people who work in my office with me. So the only people. Private place to go is the bathroom. So I go into the bathroom and I'm on the phone with the ABC executives and they say, listen, we want to take the temperature down. We're concerned about what you're going to say tonight. And we decided that the best route is to take the show off the air tonight. That's what I said. I started booing. I said, I don't think that's a good idea. And they said, well, we think it's a good idea. And then there was a vote, and I lost the vote. And so I had. I put my pants back on and I walked out to my office and I called in some of the executive producers and there were about nine people in there. And I said, they're pulling the show off there. And I was. My wife said I was white. I was whiter than Jim Gaffigan when I came out of it.

[Stephen Colbert]

Like, what's the first thing that occurred to you?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I thought, that's it. It's over. It is over. I was like, this is. I'm never coming back on the air. That's really what I thought. And so we told our staff. Now, meanwhile, the whole audience, they're in their seats.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, wait, I didn't know that your audience was already loaded.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

They are loaded and in their seats, ready for the show. We had a chef, a guy named Christian Petrino. On the show. Petrone. Sorry. On the show, who was making meatballs and polenta that night? He'd been cooking all day. Then we had. Howard Jones was taping a performance to Howard Jones.

[Stephen Colbert]

Like, no one ever is to blame that guy.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Yes, yes. But there was someone to blame in this case. In fact, it's funny you mentioned that, because the song he was doing was the song he did do, because we decided to tape it anyway, even though we sent the audience home in front of our disappointed employees was Things can only get better, which you could take two ways.

[Stephen Colbert]

Right, Exactly.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

So. So then I, you know, we said, oh, we sent the audience home. We need the staff to go in and listen to Howard Jones and pretend to be the audience. And then the staff went and ate polenta and meatballs afterwards.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, you don't have jobs, but there's plenty of wet cornmeal. There you go.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

We figured, might as well eat while we still can.

[Stephen Colbert]

Put it in your pockets.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

So then I go home, and I stayed at the show for a couple of hours, and I go home. I'm followed by 20 paparazzi, cars, TMZ, people jumping in front of me on the way home. We're just trying to get to the house, and we're like, should we be going to our house? Do we want. There are two helicopters flying over. Two helicopters following us home. Meanwhile, I hadn't had makeup on yet, so my bald spot was not painted in. This is something I did not want America to see.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yes.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

We get to the house, and we're shaking, you know, and the kids are up, and I got two kids, and our daughter, who's 11 years old, says, I can sell my Labubus. It was actually very sweet.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, that's lovely.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Our son just got naked and started running around the house.

[Stephen Colbert]

Also lovely.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

And then there were. Then it was like. It was like a DUI in la. Three days in jail where I couldn't say anything. I just had to sit quiet and make a lot of phone calls and take a lot of phone calls. You were very kind to call me, and we spoke about this, you know, certainly, you know, well, and.

[Stephen Colbert]

And who was the most unusual person that he got a text from? Cause I got some fun ones. I got my high school girlfriend. I gave my phone to Evie, and I said, as soon as I was canceled, basically, I heard from the strike force people, and I heard from Jon Stewart, and then I handed my phone to Evie, and I said, just don't give this back to me for several days.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

But when I Finally went through it. High school girlfriend James Taylor and George R.R.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Martin. Wow.

[Stephen Colbert]

He sent me the winds of winter.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Wow. Oh, that's nice.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I did not have a girlfriend in high school, so I didn't hear from her. I did hear from a girl that I would have liked to have been my girlfriend in high school. I heard from the usual. The Pope.

[Stephen Colbert]

Solid guy. He's a solid guy.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I did hear from literally everyone I have ever met. I heard from, like, the guy who picked me up at the airport in Nashville 15 years ago. I heard from a lot of people who have been guests on the show. I got a very beautiful note from James Taylor. I'd love to compare those, because did.

[Stephen Colbert]

You really get one from jt?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I wanted to see if JT did a cut and paste on us. You know.

[Stephen Colbert]

Can we get our phones? Can we get our phones?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Oh, I have to say, probably the most beautiful text I got was from James Taylor.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. I got an amazing one, too.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Yeah, well, I don't want to get in a competition with you about it.

[Stephen Colbert]

Exactly. We have to take a quick break. Right back with more Jimmy Kimmel. Everybody stick around.

[Guillermo]

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[Stephen Colbert]

Hey, everybody. We're back with the national treasure, Mr. James Kimmel from the ABC Broadcasting Company. You've been hosting the Jimmy Kimmel Live for 22 years. Premiered in 2003.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

We had a short break in the middle. Yes, yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay. After everything that happens, do you find yourself appreciating it more? I mean, I do, yes.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I definitely not just the job. The job is great. And being able to put a show on Every day is something that. I think I did radio for 12 years before that. So I've kind of always been in this Daily show world where you do something every day. And also, nobody at home listens to anything I say. So that became apparent, like day two, that there was gonna be no listening to me anymore. I will say, though, like, the whole staff, everybody was really scared and very bummed. Like you, like your staff. And it's terrible what happened to your staff. I mean, it really. I just think that it's just such a shame. You guys do such a great show and such a.

[Stephen Colbert]

And people love this show. Let me say no to me. To me. And I'm sure you feel the same way, is that I will miss doing the show. But this is the greatest group of people I've ever worked with. We took 20 years to put this team together, and I'm so honored to be one of them.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Let me ask you, can I tell you something about your staff, which you have a great staff and your writers, and your show is absolutely fantastic. And I mean that. I'm not just saying that because we're on tv. And I hope you know that. And I think you are a great person. But I will say the first 10 members of your staff came right up to me and said, I will leave today if you hire me, as well they should. They said that.

[Stephen Colbert]

Matter of fact, are you hiring?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I will give you that answer because.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm available in June if you need. I'll be Guillermo's sidekick, if that's okay. Happy to do that. Now, you started as a radio disc jockey, as you said, when you were spinning platters and making with a banter. Did you ever think the president of the United States would be celebrating your unemployment?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I mean, that son of a bitch, you know, is really unbelievable.

[Stephen Colbert]

Mr. Son of a bitch. I mean.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I mean, Mr. Mr.

[Stephen Colbert]

Son of a bitch.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

His royal. Yes. No. I never imagined that we'd ever have a president like this. And I hope we don't ever have another president like this again.

[Stephen Colbert]

I mean, I never imagined.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I never even imagined there would ever be a situation in which the president of our country was celebrating hundreds of Americans losing their jobs. Somebody who took pleasure in that. That, to me, is the absolute opposite of what a leader of this country is supposed to be.

[Stephen Colbert]

Hear, hear. Hear, hear. You have to take another break. We'll be right back with more Jimmy Kimmel, everybody. By the way, people, people. Some people may not know this. I'm on your show tonight. And should we wave to ourselves? Yes, over on abc. Which listener? Hi. Have a great show.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Love those guys. Good guy.

[Stephen Colbert]

Handsome. Very handsome. I want to thank you for something that you did. This was just. This just shows you what kind of fellow you are. As soon as we got canceled, you put up this billboard in Los Angeles, I am voting for Stephen.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Well, and I did.

[Stephen Colbert]

I did vote for you.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

And everyone on our staff voted.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, thank you.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

And I'll be honest, usually I vote for myself. Yes, this year I voted for you. I was originally. The billboard originally was supposed to say. Was supposed to say, would you vote for me if I told you I was dying? We were going to put out, you know, a rumor that I was dying to try to cheat light, but then this terrible thing happened and I was like, you know what we got? I think it would be a great statement if Stephen Colbert won the Emmy this year. And sure enough, he did. And I think that was a lot of fun.

[Stephen Colbert]

Thank you for that outstanding ovation. The only billboard I got. Well, is that really the only billboard? This is the only billboard. This is the only billboard I got.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I'm wondering when you are gonna. I mean, you have what, seven, eight months.

[Stephen Colbert]

Eight months.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Eight months left.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

When are you gonna, like, go nuts? When are you gonna cut me? When are those glasses gonna come off? When are you gonna shake your hair out like. Like the Hot for Teacher video? Maybe do some like, ayahuasca on set?

[Stephen Colbert]

Sure.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I want a journey.

[Stephen Colbert]

Do you bring enough for both of us?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I actually did bring you a gift. Did you want it?

[Stephen Colbert]

I would love a gift.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I have something for you. Okay. I do have a gift. Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Is that it back there? There's something.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I think it probably is back there. Everyone, nobody look at my ass while I'm doing this.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay? All right. Okay. All right.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

So I think this is something that you could use. You could start using now or you could wait until the show is over, whatever. But I think you're gonna like it a lot. I gave it a lot of thought and I think you're gonna love it. Okay. It represents New York and also now this is.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's. I'm trying to. I'm trying to figure out what's been matched. It's Lady Liberty.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Uh huh. It is.

[Stephen Colbert]

Put the flames on top of her head, along with a mouthpiece.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

It's a chemistry set.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, it is easy cleaning.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Yeah, yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

After you finish the experiment. Shall I?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

And I don't know if you've.

[Stephen Colbert]

Thank you. Very kind.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I know you like to read and.

[Stephen Colbert]

I. I love to read.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I Don't know if you have read this, but I think you're really.

[Stephen Colbert]

I hear good things.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Yeah, I think you're really gonna like it.

[Stephen Colbert]

I think I hear.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

But I would love to see this. I want.

[Stephen Colbert]

Thank you. I will put this to good use. Let me ask something. They're telling me you only got a minute, but that now what are they gonna do? Cancel me?

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Yeah, that's right.

[Stephen Colbert]

This is you getting wild. I like it. This is it. This is as wild as I get. Hold on. Ready? Ready? Hold on. I. You do something that I can't. Guillermo. Thank you. To good friends, great jobs and late night tv.

[Donald Trump]

Thank you.

[Stephen Colbert]

Jeremiah Steven Colbert. Wow. Thank you. Yes. So. Oh, yeah. Wait, Guillermo. Guillermo. This is how you pour. Wow.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Let's go wild.

[Stephen Colbert]

Yeah. I like that, huh? I like that. Yeah. There you go.

[Donald Trump]

Thank you very much.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'll take that. Put that down there with the hop.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

One more to Stephen Colbert.

[Stephen Colbert]

Ah, wow. All right, James.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Thank you.

[Stephen Colbert]

My friend Gumo here. Jimmy Kimmel live airs weeknights on abc. The one, the only, the beloved Jimmy Kimmel, everybody. And Guillermo, thank you for listening to the Late show pod show with Stephen Colbert. Just one more thing. If you want to see more of me, come to The Late Show YouTube channel for more clips and exclusives. Now streaming on Paramount.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Someone is trying to frame us until.

[Stephen Colbert]

Our names are clear.

[Guillermo]

More fugitives from interval Like Bonnie and.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Clyde with better snacks.

[Stephen Colbert]

Espionage.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

You still as good a shot as.

[Stephen Colbert]

He used to be?

[Guillermo]

Better.

[Stephen Colbert]

Is there love? Language?

[Pete Hegseth]

We like to walk that fine line.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

Between techno thriller and romantic comedy.

[Guillermo]

We make up our own rules.

[Stephen Colbert]

Ncis Tony and Zeva. Now streaming on Paramount. Plus the secret's out, man.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

I speak freely.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'd prefer English. The Naked God is now streaming on Paramount. Plus I've seen it a hundred times. It's a return to comed comedic glory. A little lower. A return to comedic glory.

[Jimmy Kimmel]

That's awesome.

[Stephen Colbert]

The naked cockpit of PG13. Now streaming on Paramount Plus.