As Donald Trump hits the end of his second year in office, Jimmy Kimmel will mark the occasion with a new special this Monday. “Jimmy Kimmel Live Intermission Accomplished: A Halftime Tribute to Trump” will air in Kimmel’s normal time slot, 11:35 p.m. ET, on Jan. 21.
Tongue planted firmly in cheek, Kimmel plans to take stock of the mid-point of what his press release calls a “‘bigly’ successful first term.” The special will be produced as a throwback parody of the Bob Hope variety shows of the 1970s and 1980s.
Guests scheduled to appear include Will Arnett, Paul Scheer, Alyssa Milano, Fred Willard, Fred Armisen, Jake Johnson and Anthony Atamanuik. Of course, Atamanuik is known for his Trump impression (including on Comedy Central’s “The President Show”), so don’t be surprised if he shows up in character.
In a press release, “Jimmy Kimmel Live” promises that the special will “pay an all-American tribute to our Commander-in-Chief with celebrities, song, ‘covfefe’ and ‘hamberders.’”
In recent days, in response to the government shutdown over Trump’s petulant demand for a wall, Kimmel has been hiring a different furloughed worker each day to help out on the show.
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Kimmel has been vocal over some of Trump’s most damaging and divisive actions, including his role in shutting down the U.S. federal government over the wall. On Wednesday’s show, he attempted to end the standoff by appealing to what he knows Trump really cares about: Not that thousands of Americans are working without paychecks, or that food inspections and the TSA have been limited in size, but that he hasn’t been able to golf.
“The only time the President gets to yell ‘fore’ now is when he tells his staff how many Whoppers he wants for lunch,” Kimmel quipped on Wednesday’s show. “You can’t golf while the government is shut down. Because people would go nuts. It wouldn’t look good. And Mr. President, that’s killing you. It’s killing you faster than those twelve diet cokes you drank this afternoon.
“But here’s the thing. With one crazy zig zag stroke of your Executive Sharpie, you can be back on the greens at Mar a Lago faster than you can say ‘Pocahontas,’” he added. “Federal employees go back to work – and you can get back to doing what you do best – cheating at golf. It’s good for you – and it’s good for America. We need you out on the golf course as much as possible. To keep you from doing things.”
The “Jimmy Kimmel Live” special will give it a week’s jump on some of its competitors’ plans to air live episodes after the State of The Union address on Jan. 29 (if it happens).