Most likely expected Jimmy Kimmel to share a comment on the Parkland shootings in Florida on Wednesday’s edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live, but its proximity to his taping delayed that until tonight. It was worth the wait, though, and the host had the late-night stage all to himself thanks to the Winter Olympics coverage sending the rest into hiatus.
The families in Parkland are suffering for no good reason. We send love, sympathy and prayers tonight and DEMAND that our "leaders" do SOMETHING to stop this tomorrow. How many have to suffer before we stop looking the other way?
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) February 15, 2018
Kimmel once again focused on Donald Trump and his speech from earlier on Thursday, actually agreeing with a few points before launching into an emotional segment that calls back to his monologue about the Las Vegas massacre. He fights back tears throughout, calling out the “allegedly Christian men and women who stuff their pockets with money from the NRA” for refusing to do what he — and many others — believe is needed. It’s here that he urges Trump to take a stand:
“Tell your buddies in Congress, tell Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and Marco Rubio—all the family men who care so much about their communities—that what we need are laws, real laws that do everything possible to keep assault rifles out of the hands of people who are going to shoot our kids. Go on TV and tell them to do that.”
As many outlets noted, Trump didn’t mention guns at all during his press conference and seemed to once again be holding the similar line that he and many other Conservatives had held in the past. Kimmel’s message was that something needed to be done now and he made it clear that waiting is no longer an option:
“And don’t you dare let anyone say it’s too soon to be talking about it, because you said it after Vegas, you said it after Sandy Hook, you say that after every one of these eight now fatal shootings we’ve had in this country this year…Children are being murdered.”
It’s what we’ve come to expect from the host after his emotional and polarizing 2017. And while you hope this could make a difference in the same way he made a difference with healthcare, the similarities to all of the previous responses to mass shootings doesn’t help build confidence.
(Via Jimmy Kimmel Live)