US late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday dismissed speculation that he was leaving the country. The comedian clarified that despite recently gaining Italian citizenship, he had “no intention” of moving abroad.Kimmel, during his summer break, had appeared on the Sarah Silverman Podcast and mentioned that he had obtained Italian citizenship. Conservative outlets and Trump supporters claimed this meant he was planning to leave the US. Kimmel returned directly addressed those rumours on his show, saying, “I’m not moving to Italy. I never said that. This is where I live. This is my country. I’m not running away from it, especially because of Donald Trump,” he said. He joked that if given a choice, he would move into Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort “just to drive him insane.”

Kimmel clarified that his Italian citizenship was unrelated to politics. He said he had been trying to get it for nearly 20 years because of his love for Italy. “Mostly what I like to do is bring my passport to parties and show it to people and make them jealous,” he said with humour. The comedian has often criticised Trump in his monologues. In April, he mocked Trump’s first 100 days in office, saying they were more “prehistoric” than historic.