Rumors that President Donald Trump had died started circulating after he went several days without making any public appearances. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel addressed the death rumors on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, September 2, 2025. He joked that JD Vance appeared to be pretty happy when a reporter asked Trump about the rumors.
On the show, Kimmel showed a clip in which Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Trump, “How did you find out over the weekend that you were dead?” Zooming in on the clip, Kimmel pointed out that only one person in the group standing around Trump was smiling.
“Watch this,” he said. “Who’s the only one smiling in that group? Good old JD. He hears the words ‘Trump dead,’ he lights up like a Christmas tree.”
The death rumors may seem far-fetched, but Kimmel suggested that they’re actually pretty telling. “That’s how much he’s in front of a camera,” Kimmel joked. “When we don’t see him there, we assume he must be dead.”
Though topics like “Trump Is Dead” and “Where Is Trump?” were trending on social media during Trump’s mysterious disappearance, he suggested that he wasn’t aware of the death rumors. During Tuesday’s Oval Office press conference, Trump said he knew people were concerned about his wellbeing, but he “didn’t see” the death rumors.
“That’s pretty serious stuff,” he said. “I knew they were saying, like, ‘Is he okay? How’s he feeling?’ … I had heard that, but I didn’t hear that to that extent.”
After learning of the rumors, he called them “fake news” and emphasized that he was actually “very active” over the weekend. “I did numerous news conferences, all successful … ” he said. “And then I didn’t do any for two days, and they said there must be something wrong with him. Biden wouldn’t do them for months.”
Kimmel is an outspoken Trump critic. After news about the cancelation ofThe Late Show With Stephen Colbert broke, Trump threatened that Kimmel’s show would be “next.” In one of his threatening posts, he wrote, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert.”
Meanwhile, Kimmel’s whole family, including his 11-year-old daughter and his 8-year-old son, have participated in anti-Trump protests.
