Fact check: Donald Trump attacks Jimmy Kimmel for something Al Pacino did

On Tuesday, late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel delivered another monologue making fun of former President Donald Trump. On Wednesday morning, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee fired back on social media — in part by attacking Kimmel for something Kimmel didn’t do.

Trump, calling Kimmel “stupid,” blasted the comedian for his general performance as host of the Academy Awards in March and specifically for having read aloud, from the stage, Trump’s mid-show social media post criticizing how he was doing. Then Trump claimed that Kimmel had read out the post “right before he stumbled through announcing the biggest award of all, ‘Picture of the Year.’”

Trump continued: “It was a CLASSIC CHOKE, one of the biggest ever in show business, and to top it off, he forgot to say the famous and mandatory line, ‘AND THE WINNER IS.’ Instead he stammered around as he opened the envelope.”

Facts First: Trump’s claim is false. Kimmel wasn’t the person who delivered an unusual, abrupt performance in announcing the Best Picture award won by “Oppenheimer”; that was actually legendary actor Al Pacino, whom Kimmel had introduced. And the current standard Oscars announcement phrase Pacino neglected to say is “and the Oscar goes to,” not “and the winner is” as was the standard prior to 1989.

Kimmel responded to Trump’s mix-up by invoking the “stable genius” compliment Trump has given himself in the past. “In fairness to our former President, many stable geniuses confuse me with Al Pacino….,” Kimmel wrote Wednesday afternoon on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

The presidential campaigns of Trump and President Joe Biden have traded barbs about each candidate’s verbal slip-ups; the Biden campaign mocked Trump on social media for this latest error.

A Trump campaign spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This story has been updated with additional reaction.

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