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In his first public comments following , Kimmel did not hesitate to joke about his frequent foil, President Donald Trump, and credited him for what is expected to be a ratings bonanza.

“He tried,� Kimmel said. “He did his best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly. He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this now.�

Kimmel said: “It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man. I don’t think there’s anything funny about it.� He said Kirk’s widow, Erika, performed a “selfless act of grace� in publicly forgiving her husband’s killer.

“That is an example we should follow,� he said.

He added: “I don’t think what I’m going to say is going to make much of a difference. If you like me, you like me. If you don’t, you don’t. I have no illusions about changing anyone’s mind.�

Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, the organization Kirk founded that is now headed by his widow, posted on X that Kimmel’s monologue was “not good enough� and that he needed to apologize.

“Yes, Jimmy got emotional,� Kolvet wrote. “So what. He’s emotional for himself because he almost torched his entire career.�

Meanwhile, comic Ben Stiller posted that it was a “brilliant monologue."

The incident triggered a national discussion about freedom of speech and Trump’s ability to police the words of journalists, commentators . In a social media post, the president criticized ABC for and threatened a lawsuit.

Kimmel took the stage to a long standing ovation and chants of “Jimmy, Jimmy.� One audience member, Walter Bates, said after the taping that Kimmel’s discussion of Kirk’s widow was “a very moving moment� that caused both him and his wife to get "very emotional.�

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Associated Press Writer Liam McEwan in Los Angeles contributed to this report.