Jimmy Kimmel Calls Out Donald Trump—'No Self-Awareness Whatsoever'

Jimmy Kimmel has accused Donald Trump of having "no self-awareness whatsoever" in a searing assessment of his comments about the Iowa caucuses.

The Associated Press called the race on Monday soon after the caucuses convened across the state before some sites had even finished making speeches in support of each candidate.

With virtually all votes accounted for, the former president was at 51 percent, 30 points ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in second place, with around 21 percent, and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley at just over 19 percent. Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy received 7.7 percent and dropped out of the race, immediately endorsing Trump.

Trump's success in Iowa has cemented his place early on as the clear favorite to clinch the GOP presidential nomination.

Donald Trump and Jimmy Kimmel
Donald Trump is seen on Monday in Des Moines, Iowa, with Jimmy Kimmel pictured in Los Angeles the same day. The talk show host has mocked Trump following his victory in the Iowa caucuses. Jerod Harris/Getty Images/Alex Wong/Getty Images

Speaking about the Iowa caucuses on Jimmy Kimmel Live! the following day, the host quipped that Trump won "tiny handedly," a reference to a long-running insult about the size of the former president's hands.

"Even though he barely spent any time in Iowa, he somehow made voters love him more," Kimmel, a frequent Trump critic, went on. "It's the same strategy he used raising [his sons] Eric and Don Jr."

Kimmel then played a clip of Trump speaking at a rally in Indianola, Iowa, where the former president spoke about the value of the state's caucuses.

"These caucuses are your personal chance to score the ultimate victory over all of the liars, cheaters, thugs, perverts, frauds, crooks, freaks, creeps and other quite nice people," Trump told his supporters.

"It's like he's reading his own LinkedIn résumé," Kimmel said about Trump. "I mean, seriously. It's no self-awareness whatsoever."

After replaying each of the insults Trump leveled at his detractors, Kimmel concluded: "Yeah, that's him. That's exactly him. That's the guy."

Newsweek has contacted a Trump campaign representative via email for comment.

Trump has long been the GOP front-runner in the polls, which predicted that he would have no trouble winning in Iowa. All eyes will now be on the first-in-the-nation primary vote in New Hampshire on January 23, which is expected to be a closer race, albeit with Trump still considered the leader.

While Trump continues to march forward with his efforts to reclaim the White House, he is facing a raft of legal troubles after being indicted in four criminal cases.

Trump still maintains that he was cheated in the 2020 election after losing to President Joe Biden, despite a lack of any evidence. On January 6, 2021, a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to try to stop Congress from certifying the states' electoral votes.

Last August, Trump was indicted on four counts by the Department of Justice in connection with his actions before and during the riot: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. He has pleaded not guilty and says that the case against him is politically motivated.

Trump also faces legal challenges that seek to remove him from the ballot in several states, with two having already acted to bar his name from primary voters' consideration. The lawsuits argue that Trump is ineligible to run under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars officials who have sworn an oath to the U.S. Constitution from holding office if they engage in insurrection.

Maine's secretary of state and Colorado's Supreme Court decided to remove the former president from the 2024 ballot in their primaries.

Trump has maintained that he did not engage in an insurrection and has accused those filing lawsuits against him of election interference. The former president has also filed an appeal against the Colorado decision, which the U.S. Supreme Court said it will take up. Oral arguments are set to begin on February 8.

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