Last month, during a rally in South Carolina, Donald Trump went on a tirade against late-night hosts, including Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel. While Colbert, Fallon and O'Brien promptly responded to the president's verbal jabs on their shows, Kimmel was unable to address it, as he was on vacation in Montana.
On Monday night's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel — who had no cell service or Wi-Fi on his trip — explained that he was unaware of Trump's attack until he received a text from his wife, Molly McNearney.
"So I get home and I immediately look it up, and here's what it was," said Kimmel, who then played a clip from Trump's June rally. As seen in the video, the ex-Celebrity Apprentice host asserted that Kimmel — who has "no talent," according to Trump — "would stand outside of the sidewalk waiting for me: 'Oh, here he comes, Donald Trump.'"
Trump continued, "He opens my door. I said, 'Does he do this to everybody?' to his people, [who said], 'He does it for nobody.'"
Kimmel then responded to Trump's story, saying, "Right, including you, I do it for nobody, because that never happened. It's a funny thing. Like, even the people who like the president know he makes things up. But still, it's weird to hear him tell a lie that specifically involves you. Then all of a sudden, you're like, 'Wait, no. He's lying!'"
Kimmel went on to say that in the 15 years his show has been on the air, he's only ever greeted guests about "seven times" prior to interviewing them. He explained, "I feel dumb saying hello to them and then saying hello to them 10 minutes later. But I digress. None of that actually happened."
Kimmel played a second clip from Trump's rally, in which the reality star turned politician claimed that Kimmel was "going crazy" waiting for him on Hollywood Boulevard, where the studio for his show is located.
"But he's waiting for me — two or three times I did his show before all this. Now I wouldn't do his show. That guy's terrible. But I do his show and he's standing out on Hollywood, whatever, Boulevard," said Trump, seemingly referring to his 2015 appearance on Kimmel's show. "And he's standing there opening up the door like going crazy, 'Oh, hello. Hello.' I wasn't president. I was, like, a guy, right? A guy with potential."
Kimmel, who frequently speaks out against Trump's administration on his show, quipped back: "A guy with potential to ruin everything that is good in the world."
Kimmel also clarified that guests don't enter through the doors on Hollywood Boulevard. Rather, they enter in the back through an alley. "You think the Secret Service would let the Republican nominee for president come in this way?" Kimmel asked as a camera showed live footage of Hollywood Boulevard flooded with tourists and street performers.
Kimmel concluded by telling a story about the president visiting his show in 2007 — involving Zach Braff, a bucket of chicken and a bathroom emergency. Kimmel said with a laugh, "That story is exactly as true as his was."
Watch Kimmel address Trump's rally claims in the video below.
Jimmy Kimmel Late-Night TV