Source: Entertainment Weekly

David Letterman, a former titan of late-night television, stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live Tuesday to crown the late-night host as “the leader of the resistance.”

During his appearance last night, Letterman asked Kimmel if “people are aware of the fact that you are the leader of the resistance,” as he sat down to the cheers from the studio audience. “I am the totally ineffective leader of the resistance,” Kimmel quipped in response.

“By the way, will this be televised tonight? I can never keep track with you getting yanked off,” Letterman continued, referring to ABC’s decision in September to suspend Kimmel for his comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel was reinstated nearly a week later, amid a nationwide debate about freedom of speech.

“Speaking of leaders… I’m going to I’m going to suck up to you because I feel like if I kind of tag along with you, I’ll be glorified in retrospect,” Letterman segued, “and this is irrespective of party or political ideology. If the leader of the free world is a fool, the leader of the free world should expect and examine every bit of ridicule he receives.”

Letterman was, of course, alluding to President Donald Trump with whom Kimmel has been feuding with for the better part of the year. Trump has repeatedly called for the late-night host to be fired amid Kimmel’s commitment to speaking out against the president’s controversial policies.

“Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air?” Trump wrote on social media last month. “Why do the TV Syndicates put up with it? Also, totally biased coverage. Get the bum off the air!!!”

Kimmel reacted to Trump’s remarks on his show. “I’ve actually lost count of how many times the president has demanded I be pulled off the air,” he said. “I mean, talk about a snowflake, this guy! Every five weeks he flips out and wants me fired. If you got this many threats from a neighbor, you’d have no problem getting a restraining order.”

He added, “You tried to get me fired in September. It didn’t work! Mr. President, I admire your tenacity, if you’re watching tonight, which I presume you are, how about this: I’ll go when you go.”

As Letterman pointed out on Tuesday night, Kimmel isn’t the only one whose gone head-to-head with Trump.

When Kimmel asked the late-night legend if he misses having the nightly platform, Letterman admitted he’s “so glad to be out from under this mess,” and commended Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Seth Meyers for doing “such a masterful job of defending democracy.”

“Thank God for you, thank God for others, SNL and everybody else…,” Letterman asserted. “I think it’s the way things need to be in a democracy that’s seemingly this crippled.”

Political discussions on late-night TV have been thrust into the spotlight since July, in the wake of The Late Show’s cancellation several days after Colbert criticized the network’s parent company, Paramount, for settling a lawsuit from Trump. The president has repeatedly called for Kimmel, Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, and Meyers to all be put on the chopping block.

Despite Trump’s most heated arguments, he won’t be getting his wish anytime soon as all three hosts have signed contract extensions that will keep them on TV screens for nearly the remainder of his presidency. Last year, both Fallon and Meyers renewed their contracts with NBC to host The Tonight Show and Late Night until 2028, and Kimmel recently inked a one-year contract extension to continue hosting through May 2027.

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