Jimmy Kimmel on Trump at NBA finals: ‘He shut down a city so he could take a nap’

By Guardian staff • June 10, 2026 • Culture

Late night hosts weighed in on the president’s combative words about Netanyahu, his failing Iran peace talks and plans for a new Trump Promenade

On Tuesday night, late night hosts addressed Donald Trump appearing to doze off during the NBA finals, misleading updates on Iran peace talks and plans for a new Trump Promenade in Washington DC. Jimmy Kimmel On Jimmy Kimmel Live! the host addressed reports that Trump appeared to snooze off during Monday night’s Knicks v Spurs game at Madison Square Garden. Doing so, Kimmel said, made him “the first sitting president to shut down a major United States city so he could take a nap in front of a sold-out crowd at the NBA finals.” Fans at the game faced poorly managed crowd control and hours-long wait times due to increased security, while protesters held signs that read “Go Knicks, Fuck Trump.” “Say what you want about Trump, [but] he has been great for the poster board industry,” said Kimmel. Fans at the arena booed Trump when he was shown saluting on the jumbotron, while watch party crowds at a local park also voiced disapproval. “Even the pigeons were telling him to suck it,” joked the host. After the game tipped off, the president appeared to take a nap. “[He] spent who knows how many millions of taxpayer dollars to get there and he goes out for the light,” said Kimmel. “I hope Joe Biden was watching this and laughing his ass off.” On Monday, Trump said that he was within “one hour” of finalizing a peace deal with Iran, which did not materialize. “This will be going on til Christmas,” Kimmel said. “He’s made a whole life of saying things that aren’t true and moving on as if they are. “Unfortunately for him, that doesn’t work when there are missiles involved. In missiles versus bullshit, the missiles win. This guy is about as close to a deal with Iran as he is to touching his toes right now.” Seth Meyers In a new interview, Trump said that Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu would have to accept any peace deal offered by the US, saying, “I call the shots. I call all the shots.” “And then, since he said ‘shots’ three times, Pete Hegseth magically appeared,” Seth Meyers joked on his late night show. Last week, Trump claimed that the US made $50bn after he took a 10% stake in a semiconductor company, and bragged that he should be a stockbroker. “Then go be one,” said Meyers to audience applause. “There are so many other jobs you clearly prefer.” Yesterday, the president nominated his former defense lawyer and acting US attorney general Todd Blanche to remain in the position permanently. “Oh come on!” exclaimed Meyers, adding “if they’re going to let him get away with installing one of his personal lawyers as AG, at least make it the fun one” before showing a picture of Rudy Giuliani. Meanwhile, Joe Biden indicated last week that his new memoir could be published in September. “It’s expected to be the next book that Joe Biden accidentally buys,” laughed Meyers before impersonating the former president: “Hey, this looks interesting, this guy’s from Scranton too.” Trump also has announced plans to build a promenade leading to the Lincoln Memorial, saying that “they want” to call it the Trump Promenade. “Who’s they?” asked Meyers. “The voices?” In lighter news, a British personal trainer has set a new world record for speed-eating Oreos after he consumed 162 of the cookies in five minutes. “It was the record for worst personal trainer,” deadpanned Meyers.

Source: The Guardian