ToplineJimmy Kimmel on Thursday night responded to President Donald Trump once again calling for him to be fired from his late-night show and claims of poor ratings by pointing to the president’s sliding approval ratings, as he commended a “small handful” of Republican lawmakers who have spoken out in support of his free speech rights.Jimmy Kimmel continued to feud with President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called for the comedian's firing.Disney via Getty ImagesKey FactsIn his opening monologue, Kimmel said both of them should be out of a job if “incompetently presiding over…the lowest rating in history” was the issue—pointing to headlines about Trump’s record-low approval numbers.Kimmel then played clips of Trump speaking about protecting free speech and criticizing “cancel culture” during his presidential campaign and then quipped, “I'm starting to think Donald Trump might be a hypocrite.”The comedian also poked fun at Trump’s Truth Social post, in which he claimed he aced a cognitive test, and said the president repeating boasts about passing a simple test was “a sign you didn't pass the cognitive impairment test.”In the post, Trump mentioned his “THREE” terms as president and Kimmel said thinking he’s had three terms was a sign Trump was “cognitively impaired.”TangentWhile calling out Trump and members of his administration, Kimmel commended a group of Republican lawmakers—Sens. Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Rep. James Comer—saying they have “spoken out to support our First Amendment rights.” The comedian said, “Every one of these guys I've made fun of repeatedly and viciously on this show. And you know what not one of them has done? Pressured ABC to fire me for it.” All three lawmakers have spoken out against the FCC’s planned review of ABC’s broadcast licenses in eight markets. Kimmel himself, though, has not yet spoken about the FCC review directly and the agency’s chair, Brendan Carr, has claimed the review is unrelated to Kimmel’s joke about Melania Trump last week.What Did Trump Say About Kimmel?In a post on Truth Social, Trump called for Kimmel’s firing, the second time he’s done so this week. The president wrote: “When is ABC Fake News Network firing seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel, who incompetently presides over one of the Lowest Rated shows on Television? People are angry. It better be soon!!!”Key BackgroundIn a segment that aired last week, Kimmel parodied the White House Correspondents’ Dinner ahead of the event. The comedian cracked several jokes about Trump’s purported health problems and said of Melania Trump: “Look at her. So beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.” The joke didn’t garner much reaction at first, but soon came under the spotlight after a shooting at Saturday’s dinner, which the DOJ said was an attempt to assassinate Trump. In a post on X, Melania Trump derided the skit, accused Kimmel of engaging in “hateful and violent rhetoric,” and demanded Kimmel’s network, ABC, “take a stand.” The president also demanded that Kimmel be fired, saying: “I appreciate that so 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.” Kimmel pushed back against the criticism describing the first lady’s reaction as a “Twitter vomit storm,” and saying his joke was about the Trumps’ age gap.Further ReadingBrendan Carr Denies White House Pressured FCC To Review ABC Licenses—As Trump Calls For Kimmel’s Firing (Forbes)FCC Launches Review Of 8 ABC Stations’ Licenses After Kimmel’s Melania Trump Joke (Forbes)Kimmel Responds To Melania Trump—Says She Should Start With The President On Dialing Back ‘Violent Rhetoric’ (Forbes)