Kimmel Calls Out Trump and ‘Gaggle of Scumbags’ for Politicizing Wildfires, Praises Heroes of Natural Disaster — Including Steve Guttenberg

A teary-eyed Jimmy Kimmel was the first Los Angeles-based late-night host to return to air Monday — and while he took a moment to call out President-elect Donald Trump and “his gaggle of scumbags,” his monologue was primarily focused on the real-life superheroes who have emerged during a “very scary, very stressful, very strange week” in the Golden State.

“We are back in our studio, which we had to evacuate on Wednesday,” Kimmel began. After showing just how close the wildfires came to reaching the El Capitan on Hollywood Blvd., he added: “Many of us had to leave our homes in a hurry. Some of our coworkers lost their homes. It has been terrible.

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“As of tonight, the winds are back, and I think I speak for all of us when I say it has been a sickening, shocking, awful experience,” he remarked. “But it has also been, in a lot of ways, a beautiful experience. Once again, we see our fellow men and women coming together to support each other. People who lost their own homes were out volunteering in parking lots, helping others who lost theirs — and tonight, I don’t want to get into all the vile and irresponsible and stupid things our alleged future president and his gaggle of scumbags chose to say during our darkest and most terrifying hour. The fact that they chose to attack our firefighters who currently aren’t ‘white enough’ to be out there risking their lives on our behalf is disgusting, but it’s not surprising. Instead, I want to focus on thanking those men and women — our firefighters from L.A. were the first on the scene. Without hesitation, they were out there putting out the fires as best they could. And then we had firefighters from other states coming in…. We have firemen and women from Mexico, from Canada… and to our police, our National Guard, our rescue workers, doctors, the nurses, EMTs, the pilots working 12-hour shifts. Thank God for all of you and these brave individuals… and I also want to thank our local news reporters who reminded us how important local television and newspapers are.”

Kimmel told his audience that he and his wife currently have 19 people (and four dogs) living with them as a result of the devastation. A somber Guillermo, who nearly came to stay with Kimmel, thanked God that his home was still standing after he and his family nearly evacuated.

What followed were check-ins with chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, who are working with José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen to provide free meals to firefighters, as well as Police Academy star and “national treasure” Steve Guttenberg, an unlikely hero in his fire-ravaged town.

Watch Kimmel’s full monologue below:

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