Jimmy Kimmel seized on Tucker Carlson’s sudden break with Donald Trump, mocking the conservative commentator’s apology and arguing the split reveals a deeper fracture among some of the president’s most vocal allies.
Opening his monologue on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” the late-night host framed Carlson’s comments as more than a one-off moment, suggesting they reflect a growing divide among figures who once lined up behind Trump.
“I mentioned last night Trump has fallen out with many of his most loyal MAGAts, including Tucker Carlson, who went so far as to apologize for ever supporting him in the first place,” Kimmel began.
Kimmel then rolled footage from Carlson’s podcast, where the former Fox News host addressed his past support for Trump and acknowledged a sense of responsibility tied to current events.
In the clip, Carlson said that “everyone who supported [Trump]” is now “implicated in this for sure,” adding that it’s not enough to simply walk away from that position after the fact.
“It’s not enough to say, ‘Well, I changed my mind’ or, ‘This is bad, I’m out,’” Carlson continued. “It’s very small ways, but in real ways, you and me and millions of people like us are the reason this is happening right now.”
Carlson added that the moment demands reflection and accountability.
Tucker Carlson: I’ll be tormented for a long time by the fact that I played a role in getting Donald Trump elected. We’re implicated in this. I misled people. pic.twitter.com/pkHb1BSLUe
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) April 21, 2026
“I do think it’s a moment to wrestle with our own consciences. We’ll be tormented by it for a long time. I will be. And I want to say I’m sorry for misleading people. It was not intentional,” he concluded.
Kimmel treated the apology as a punchline rather than a turning point.
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“That’s big. I mean, Tucker Carlson apologizing for helping Trump get elected,” Kimmel said, before adding, “I believe they call that liar’s remorse.”
The liberal late-night host then leaned into a series of jokes designed to undercut Carlson’s credibility, including a callback to one of Carlson’s past culture-war segments.
“Tucker also admitted he is in a same-sex relationship with a green M&M,” Kimmel joked, referencing Carlson’s previous criticism of the candy brand’s marketing changes.
Kimmel also took aim at conservative media figures, arguing that Carlson is not alone in distancing himself from Trump.
“All the kooks are breaking ranks: Marjorie Taylor Greene, Alex Jones, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and now Tucker,” he monologued.
He also mocked Carlson’s background, joking about the names within his family.
“That was his brother, Buckley. Did anyone know Tucker had a brother Buckley? Tucker and Buckley? That is as white as it gets,” Kimmel said. “Their parents were an ascot and a monocle.”
Despite Carlson’s apology, Kimmel warned viewers not to assume a lasting change in the commentator’s views.
“But lest you think Tucker is a completely changed man, don’t worry, he’s still plenty nuts,” Kimmel remarked.
To make his point, Kimmel played another clip from Carlson’s podcast, where he launched into a separate rant targeting the medical profession.
In that segment, Carlson called doctors “the worst people in America” and claimed gynecologists must “murder a baby” before being allowed to qualify.
Kimmel responded by imagining a future scenario where Carlson seeks medical help.
“Thanksgiving at the Carlsons’ must be a barrel of laughs,” Kimmel cracked. “I hope that when Tucker Carlson shows up at an emergency room one day, all he hears from the doctors is this…”
He then played a supercut of Carlson laughing, ending the bit with, “Sometimes laughter is the worst medicine.”
Carlson’s criticism of Trump centers on the administration’s military actions in Iran, which he opposed early and publicly.
He has questioned whether the escalation was planned in advance, suggesting that warning signs may have been visible before the conflict unfolded.
“You don’t want to be a conspiracy nut, but like, clearly, there were signs of low character, we knew that,” Carlson said on his podcast.
“But there are tons of people of low character who, like, outperform their character.”
Trump has not ignored Carlson’s shift in tone, responding with a series of attacks on Carlson’s intelligence.
In a lengthy conversation just now, President Trump hit back at Tucker Carlson who called the Iran war “absolutely disgusting and evil.”
"Tucker has lost his way,” Trump told me. “I knew that a long time ago, and he's not MAGA. MAGA is saving our country. MAGA is making our…
— Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) March 5, 2026
“I knew that a long time ago, and he’s not MAGA,” Trump told ABC News, dismissing Carlson’s criticism.
“MAGA is saving our country. MAGA is making our country great again. MAGA is America first, and Tucker is none of those things. And Tucker is really not smart enough to understand that.”
The president also took to Truth Social to continue bashing the former Fox News host, describing Carlson as someone who had lost credibility after leaving the network.
“Flailing fools like Tucker Carlson, who couldn’t even finish college, he was a broken man when he got fired from Fox, and he’s never been the same,” Trump wrote. “Perhaps he should see a good psychiatrist!”
In a separate interview, Trump said that “Tucker’s a low IQ person that has absolutely no idea what’s going on.”
The dispute has drawn in other conservative figures as well, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who criticized Carlson’s recent positions.
Cruz accused Carlson of drifting away from core conservative views, describing him as a “deranged, Leftist psycho” in response to a message Carlson’s media network posted online.
Tucker has turned into a deranged, Leftist psycho.
Who loves sharia. https://t.co/vD2FpFRYjB
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 15, 2026
The exchange followed a post stating, “Muslims love Jesus,” which Carlson’s platform used to respond to a separate controversy involving Trump.
Carlson had also objected to Trump’s call for Iran to accept an “unconditional surrender,” a stance that drew additional backlash the Republican lawmaker.
“That is more anti-American rhetoric than anything I’ve ever heard Bernie Sanders say,” Cruz said on his podcast. “The more Tucker Carlson attacks Donald Trump the more fringe he gets.”