Overview

• An Economist/YouGov survey of roughly 1,650 U.S. adults found Jimmy Kimmel with 44% favorable and 41% unfavorable (net +3) versus President Trump at 41% favorable and 54% unfavorable (net −13), a 16-point gap.
• Kimmel opened his Oct. 6 monologue by touting the poll and joking he is now “more popular than the president of the United States.”
• He read an official White House statement attributed to spokesperson Anna Kelly, which cited Trump’s 77 million voters and mocked Kimmel’s ratings with a “Sad!” sign-off.
• Kimmel riffed that Trump could improve his numbers by releasing the Epstein files, a line widely highlighted in recaps of the monologue.
• Since ABC reinstated Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the comeback episode drew about 6.2–6.3 million viewers before falling to roughly 1.9 million on Oct. 2, including a 265,000 25–54 demo that marked an 85% drop from the return night.