Why Jimmy Kimmel is offering his biggest awards to Donald Trump

Jimmy Kimmel is presenting the president with a business offer.

The outspoken late-night host criticized President Donald Trump over his administration's response to protests in Minneapolis during an episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Thursday, Jan. 15.

Clashes between protesters and federal agents have intensified in the midwestern city after a federal officer shot a Venezuelan man, accused of fleeing a traffic stop and attacking an agent, on Wednesday. The shooting came a week after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot a 37-year-old woman, identified as Renee Nicole Good, during a confrontation.

As tensions rise in Minnesota, Trump threatened on Thursday to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would give him authority to deploy U.S. armed forces domestically.

"A good president right now, a normal president, would be looking for a way to deescalate the situation, but not our Donald," Kimmel, 58, said, jokingly adding, "He turns the temperature up on everything but his wife."

In an informal bid to tamp down the "unnecessary brutality" associated with Trump's illegal immigration crackdown, Kimmel offered a series of his past career awards in exchange for withdrawing ICE troops from Minneapolis.

The TV host, referencing Trump's recent acquisition of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado's 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, then brought out a group of statuettes to persuade the president, including his 1999 Daytime Emmy, a Writers Guild of America trophy, his 2016 Webby Award and a 2015 Soul Train Award for white person of the year.

"Trump loves awards. Giving him an award is the only way to get him to do anything," Kimmel said. "The choice is yours. I will personally deliver any or even all of these to the Oval Office in exchange for leaving the people of Minneapolis alone."

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung responded to Kimmel's offer in a Friday X post, writing, "Jimmy should hold on to those so he has something to pawn after [he] gets fired for being a no-talent loser with horrific ratings."

Kimmel's latest jab at President Trump echoes his comments from earlier this week.

In his Jan. 12 monologue, the late-night host slammed Trump for his "ongoing war against Minneapolis" and praised the "patriotic Americans" who protested ICE's immigration enforcement operation following Good's death.

Kimmel also criticized Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem for doubling down on accusations that Good was committing domestic terrorism during her confrontation with ICE.

"This is what they want us to believe," Kimmel said. "They need to paint anyone who protests as violent and dangerous, even a mom in a Honda."

This story was updated to add new information.

Contributing: Christopher Cann, Thao Nguyen, Jeanine Santucci, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy and Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY