Jimmy Kimmel shared his excitement over the news that an American has been elected as the new Pope while also mocking President Donald Trump and right wing figures who are upset by the selection.
“An American Pope!” Kimmel said at the top of Thursday night’s (May 8) episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! “The Popemobile is now a Ford F-250 with truck nuts.”
The late-night host was referring to Chicago native Robert Prevost, who was elected as the new Pope on Thursday and has now taken the Papal name Leo XIV.
“I’m actually surprised by how excited I am,” Kimmel continued. “An American who grew up here, watched all the shows we watched, rooted for teams, is now in Rome at the head of the church. Italy and America… this must have been what it felt like when they opened the first Olive Garden.”
After showing a clip from Rome of nuns “screaming in excitement,” Kimmel said, “I’ve seen that firsthand. No joke. Nuns go crazy for the Pope. Like full-on BTS, One Direction, 1990 New Kids on the Block.”
He added, “When I was in college, I went to a mass at the Vatican, I almost got trampled by a line of crazed, horny nuns… Oh, yeah, they were horny. Make no mistake about it. All those years of chastity erupted when they got a look at John Paul in that skimpy little yarmulke he’d wear.”
Kimmel then turned his attention to President Trump, whom he called “Pope Pompous the 18th” and “the Archbishop of Ranterbury.”
“Trump was not elected by the conclave,” the comedian added. “Another election was rigged against him, but he did say he was looking forward to meeting the new Chicago Pope. Wait til he finds out how many times this new Pope has criticized him.”
After poking fun at various right wing commenters for their anger over the new Pope, Kimmel quipped, “Trump just hit the Vatican with an 80% tariff on pointy hats.”
“So, congratulations to him,” Kimmel concluded. “This is an historic era we are living in. We have an American Pope and a Russian President.”
Elsewhere in Thursday’s monologue, Kimmel touched on Trump’s new trade deal with the United Kingdom, which will see Americans essentially paying triple in taxes on British goods.
“He is very proud of himself for making a trade agreement with a country we were trading with just fine until he screwed it all up,” Kimmel said before pointing out how companies like Rolls Royce got a special break as part of the deal.
“Rest easy, Ma and Pa MAGA hat,” Kimmel joked. “You’re still gonna lose the farm, but you’ll only have to pay 10% extra on that Rolls-Royce you’ve had your eye on.”
You can watch Kimmel’s full opening monologue in the video above and let us know your thoughts below.
Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35 pm ET/PT, ABC