Jimmy Kimmel is weighing in on Tucker Carlson, Joe Rogan and Donald Trump in a new interview.
The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host spoke to The New York Times reporter Kara Swisher for the latest episode of her Sway podcast.
Regarding Carlson, Swisher asked Kimmel if the Fox News host should be “canceled.”
“No, I don’t think we should cancel Tucker Carlson,” Kimmel said. “I think that Tucker Carlson is on commercial television. And if you don’t like Tucker Carlson, you should not buy the products that are advertised on his show. And if you feel like writing a letter to those companies, you should write a letter to them. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to shut people up because I want to know where people are coming from. I want to know what they think. I want to know if they have horrible thoughts…. I want to hear their confessions.”
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“Now, do I believe that Tucker Carlson believes the things he says?” he added. “I do not. I think he is a phony in every respect. I think he’s an algorithm. I think his audience created him. I think he started out as a fairly down-the-middle, political broadcaster in a cute little bow tie with polka dots on it.”
Kimmel was similarly asked about Spotify podcast host Joe Rogan, who replaced Kimmel as co-host of Comedy Central’s The Man Show and has been criticized for having guests who advocated anti-vax conspiracy theories.
“I don’t necessarily think that anybody should be shut up,” Kimmel said. “I wish people would pay attention to the facts and I wish people were just consistent…. I don’t know [Rogan] at all…. I have met him…and I think he’s a funny guy. And I think that probably most of what he says is entertaining and fun to listen to. I know people who trust what he says, and I personally know people who have put themselves in danger because he minimized the importance of vaccines. But I also know that it’s not as black and white as sometimes the media makes it out to be.”
And finally, on the subject of former President Trump, the host said he would actually like to have his frequent comedy target on his ABC late-night show as a guest.
“I would actually [like to have him on], because there are so many things I want to say to him,” he said. “And I know what would happen — there would be a hue of outrage from my friends on the left, and also outrage from those on the right who saw me interview him. But there are a lot of things I would like to say to him and ask him.
“I always kind of shudder at the idea that any of us, me included, liked having him as president, because it made our jobs easier,” he added. “It didn’t make our jobs easier. It made our jobs harder, and more importantly, it divided the country in a way that we’ve not ever seen in our lifetime.”
