Late-night sensation Jimmy Kimmel sparked controversy with a scathing jab at Karoline Leavitt, prompting a whirlwind of backlash from fans and critics alike. As social media explodes with reactions, many are left wondering if Kimmel’s comedic style has veered into dangerous territory, challenging the limits of satire and decency.

Jimmy Kimmel on Karoline Leavitt’s California claims: ‘It didn’t happen’

He compared her first press conference to Sean Spicer’s claims about Trump having the biggest inauguration crowd ever

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt briefs reporters at the White House in Washington, on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt briefs reporters at the White House in Washington, on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. DOUG MILLS/NYT

If part of the job of the White House press secretary is to provide fodder for late-night TV hosts, Karoline Leavitt is off to a strong start.

In her debut at the lectern Tuesday, the 27-year-old New Hampshire native reiterated President Trump’s claim that the US military moved into California and “turned on the water” to ease the state’s wildfire crisis.

“This might be worse than when [Trump] made Sean Spicer say he had the biggest inauguration crowd in history,” Jimmy Kimmel said during his monologue Tuesday.

In case you’ve forgotten, Spicer, who was Trump’s first press secretary, falsely claimed that the crowd at the 2017 inauguration was “the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe.” (Things didn’t get much better for Spicer, who resigned after 182 days on the job.)

On Tuesday’s show, Kimmel played some of Leavitt’s press briefing, including a clip of her saying that the Los Angeles water supply was back on thanks to “the pressure campaign [Trump] put on state and local officials there who clearly lack all common sense.”

Kimmel shrugged.

“Whether or not the US military entered California and turned the water on is not a matter of debate,” he said. “This is not liberal versus conservative. It didn’t happen, OK?”

Leavitt, who’s the youngest White House press secretary in US history, is a graduate of Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. She’s married to Nicholas Riccio, a real-estate developer who’s three decades her senior, and has one child.

At the press briefing Tuesday, Leavitt, wearing a gold necklace with a large crucifix, told reporters that “the golden age of America has most definitely begun.” She added that the White House press pool will be expanded to include nontraditional media.

“We welcome independent journalists, podcasters, social media influencers, and content creators to apply for credentials to cover this White House,” she said.

In other words, said Kimmel, “Leavitt is now the ringleader at the White House, where she promised a new and more circus-like atmosphere going forward.”

Over on CBS, meanwhile, “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert was focused Tuesday on Trump’s sweeping freeze of federal aid and his move to fire or force out government workers, including lawyers at the Department of Justice who worked on the Jan. 6 cases.

“Hey, remember when Donald Trump said he was going to be a dictator only on day one?” said Colbert. “Well, evidently, his first act as dictator was declaring that day one never ends.”

Mark Shanahan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @MarkAShanahan.