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Jimmy Kimmel reveals he asked major Trump critic to guest host while he's on vacation as a 'special treat'
By Hanna Panreck
Published June 19, 2026
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said during his show on Thursday that he asked Rosie O'Donnell, among others, if she would guest host his show during his two-month vacation, framing the choice as a "special treat" for President Donald Trump.
"I hope you’re paying attention this summer. I will be taking the next two months off, this time voluntarily," he said, referring to his brief hiatus from the air in September 2025.
"We have assembled a potent group of hosts to fill in for me beginning with Tiffany Haddish, Colman Domingo, Ike Barinholtz, Anthony Anderson, Jelly Roll and, as a special treat for our commander in chief, I asked one of his all-time favorites — Rosie O’Donnell, to be here to keep the hits coming," Kimmel said.
Kimmel then added, "And all I ask in return, Mr. President, is that you don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone, OK?"
TRUMP TAKES SWIPE AT JIMMY KIMMEL'S TALENT WHILE HONORING KENNEDY CENTER RECIPIENTS IN OVAL OFFICE
Jimmy Kimmel accepts an award onstage at the 86th Annual Peabody Awards held at the Beverly Wilshire on May 31, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. Rosie O'Donnell attends the 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 7, 2026, in New York City. (Rodriguez/Variety via Getty Images; Dia Dipasupil/WireImage)
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
O'Donnell attacked Trump in a rare public appearance at the Tony Awards this month, calling him a conman, narcissist and a psychopath in an interview with Variety.
"If you grew up in New York, you knew he was an a--hole and a liar from day one. And I am 64 years old and have lived my whole life here. So, I remember when his planes were repossessed off the runways at LaGuardia. I remember when he was broke. I remember when he would call up places and pretend to be his own publicist," O'Donnell said.
"He is a conman. He is a narcissist. And he is a psychopath, if you ask me," she said.
O'Donnell moved to Ireland after the president won the 2024 election.
TRUMP THREATENS TO STRIP ROSIE O'DONNELL'S U.S. CITIZENSHIP AS HE SAYS SHE'S A 'THREAT TO HUMANITY'
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)
After once vowing to never get plastic surgery, O'Donnell recently opened up about battling guilt and shame after undergoing cosmetic surgery earlier this year.
"I used to feel very strongly about facelifts," she wrote on Substack. "Not casually — morally. I had assigned myself as head of all women who would never — ever. I thought it was a betrayal. Of feminism. Of aging. Of our team of women worldwide. And then I lost 50 pounds..."
O'Donnell sat down with former CNN host Jim Acosta for an interview on his podcast, "The Jim Acosta Show," on Thursday.
She told Acosta that she believed former Vice President Kamala Harris won the election and that evidence would come out eventually.
ROSIE O'DONNELL QUIETLY RETURNS TO US AFTER ABANDONING COUNTRY OVER TRUMP'S VICTORY
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"Part of the reason that I left is I never in a million years thought we would put a convicted felon who tried to start an insurrection back in office. How did that happen? I don't think it happened. I think Kamala won. I do," she said. "And I think that we're going to find all this out. It's going to come out and it, I'm not the first person to say this. There are all these researchers who were saying it. I read it online again today."
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