As many late night talk show hosts are doing, Jimmy Kimmel spent a lot of time on Wednesday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” monologue talking about some of the latest updates in the mess caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
And while joking about it, he expressed some mild skepticism that there is any kind of rift between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, along with some circumstantial evidence to back himself up.
Kimmel started by talking about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s virtual address to Congress on Wednesday during which he joked that American lawmakers would do more for Ukraine, “but we just made Daylight Saving time permanent – and we are wiped out so…”
Kimmel also talked about the growing crackdown on the assets of Russian oligarchs, including a situation where a yacht belonging to a friend of Putin is stuck in Norway because local fuel suppliers refuse to sell fuel to him. Which is how Kimmel transitioned to talking about Trump.
“We’re really sticking it to Putin’s pals. And guess what Steven Seagal? You’re next on the list!” Kimmel joked.
“This is not going the way the Russians hoped it would. Their economy is tanking. Businesses are closing. Assets have been frozen. And the only pizza they can get now is Papa Johns. Sure. Which is, you know, a nightmare,” Kimmel continued.
“But Putin is punching back. He has now levied sanctions of his own. The Russian Foreign Ministry has imposed sanctions on a number of prominent Americans, including Joe Biden, Jen Psaki, Hillary Clinton – and even Joe Biden’s son, Hunter,” Kimmel noted. “The sanctions prevent them from any travel into Russia. So there go Hillary’s plans to summer in Yagoglav I guess.”
But, Kimmel added, “You know who’s name is not on the list? The guy who was tougher than anyone on Russia! Donald Trump is not on the list. He was so tough on Russia – they were scared to put him on the list.”
“Tsar-A-Lago has been carefully dialing back his words of praise for his former Sugar Vladdy,” Kimmel said, noting that less than a month ago Trump called Putin “a genius.”
“Now – he says he thinks Putin has “changed” since he was in office. He said ‘I think Putin has changed. It’s a very sad thing for the world. He’s very much changed.’ He’s not the lovable little buddy, riding a horse with no shirt on I once knew and loved,” Kimmel said.
“At least he still has Kim Jong Un I guess.”
Watch the monologue above.