Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel took a jab at President Donald Trump’s administration and the annual Thanksgiving turkey pardoning ceremony, mocking the event and joking that “fascists have fun, too.”
Kimmel riffed on the pardoned birds, Gobble and Waddle, during his Tuesday show.
“These are the birds that were spared,” Kimmel said. “Their names are Gobble and Waddle, which is what Trump does every night at dinner: gobble and waddle.”
The comedian then played a clip of Waddle being brought into the White House press briefing room, where press secretary Karoline Leavitt introduced the bird while holding her young son.
“Hi Waddle, my goodness, he’s a beautiful bird,” Leavitt said.
A representative of the National Turkey Federation (NTF) then asked Waddle, “Want to give us a gobble?”
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Waddle obliged, and Kimmel responded, saying “See? Fascists have fun, too. It’s fun.”
Kimmel’s “fascists” label for the Trump administration drew criticism from the conservative media watchdog NewsBusters, who flagged the clip.
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“On Tuesday, there was a moment of apolitical fun at the White House… Unfortunately, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel just had to ruin it by reacting, ‘See? Fascists have fun too,'” news analyst Alex Christy wrote.
There’s no love lost between Trump and Kimmel. Trump has repeatedly called for Kimmel’s firing at ABC, and Kimmel is a fierce critic of him and his administration.
