• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, 4 hours ago

Fear of Donald Trump is one thing. Fear that your late-night host is no longer an audience draw who is no longer worth keeping around is another.

Predictably, Trump demanded this week that ABC fire Kimmel over a line Kimmel delivered on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” last week in which Kimmel joked about Trump dying.

The line came in a monologue on last Thursday’s show, two days before the White House Correspondents' Dinner where a California man attempted to assassinate the President.

The remark came in a bit that was staged as a mock White House Correspondents' Dinner, in which Kimmel played the role of host.

In the nearly seven-minute bit, Kimmel delivered a monologue styled in the manner of a “roast,” the traditional way in which celebrities -- most notably, comedians -- take up the opportunity to insult each other.

These roasts have been a staple of TV since at least the 1960s.

Donald Trump himself was roasted on Comedy Central in 2011. I happened to be there, and if memory serves, Trump took it all very well. 

Not surprisingly, Kimmel’s fake roast was aimed almost entirely at Trump, plus First Lady Melania Trump and other luminaries such as Vice President J.D. Vance and Trump’s sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

“And, of course, our First Lady, Melania, is here,” said Kimmel at one point in his monologue as video of Mrs. Trump was shown from some other event in which she is smiling.

“Look at [her] … so beautiful,” Kimmel said. “Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow!”

Kimmel’s performance contained plenty of tasteless jokes about President Trump, the First Lady and his other targets, but this was the line that understandably drew all the attention in the wake of last Saturday’s assassination attempt. 

Acknowledging that all hindsight is 20/20, Kimmel’s remark was ill-timed. Worse still, many have interpreted it to mean that Kimmel would not be unhappy at all if Trump died. 

Kimmel’s tone indicated that he would welcome the President’s death with a big smile on his face. 

In light of what happened two nights later, Kimmel’s jokes were no longer funny, and his attitude no longer appropriate.

Kimmel got himself into hot water last September after the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. 

Back then, Kimmel asserted on his show that Kirk’s murder was committed by an acolyte of “the MAGA gang.”

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said on September 16. 

Disney then suspended him for a week. Then Kimmel returned and backtracked on what he said by apologizing to the Kirk family.

But like Stephen Colbert -- his counterpart on CBS whose show is shutting down next month -- Kimmel’s monologues have long relied almost solely on Trump jokes.

Kimmel’s ratings have been falling for a long time. Focusing on abusing Trump every night is part of the reason.

What I learned when I watched Kimmel’s monologue from last Thursday -- the regular monologue he gave before the White House Correspondents' Dinner spoof -- is that his comedy is just about gone.

Half the jokes had these set-ups that went on forever. The worst of them were jokes about Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. 

To get to the punchlines, Kimmel had to lead into them with lengthy explanations about aspects of the Epstein-Trump story that made me want to look at my watch to see how long each of these “jokes” was going to last.

In his words, demeanor and tone of voice, Kimmel, 58, comes across as bitter and angry. 

His show is 23 years old. The show’s viewership has no potential for growth, and if the “Colbert” show is any indication, ABC is likely struggling to make money, if any, on the Kimmel show. 

So now, Disney has this arrogant late-night comedian who has lost his instinct for comedy and instead, goes off unglued over President Trump every night. Why don’t they just put an end to it, like CBS?

Kimmel ended his fake roast monologue by not only clobbering Trump one more time, but also Jay Leno -- who Kimmel has openly detested for years -- for no apparent reason.

“In all seriousness, I do want to thank the President,” Kimmel said. “We are the hottest country in the world right now and that’s all because of you, sir. You truly are the GOAT and a monkey and a pig!”

“You made America great again and you made comedy great again and that is why I am very proud to announce the winner of the inaugural Burger King of Comedy Gold Award [is] none other than our President, Donald J. Leno Trump. Congratulations, sir, and thank you!” Kimmel said.

Kimmel should be so lucky as to be as successful in late-night television, and comedy in general, as Jay Leno.