Jimmy Kimmel Reveals Trump Ultimatum To ABC: ‘I Just Couldn’t Live With Myself'

Jimmy Kimmel says he almost quit his show when ABC execs asked him to dial back his jokes about Donald Trump.

“Ten years ago, among Republicans, I was the most popular talk-show host,” Kimmel told the “Naked Lunch” podcast. “At least according to the research that they did.”

When Kimmel began cracking Trump jokes nightly, he lost about half of his fans so he understood ABC’s concern.

“I just said, ‘Listen, if that’s what you want to do, I understand and I don’t begrudge you for it, but I’m not going to do that. So, you know, if you want somebody else to host the show, then that’s fine. That’s OK with me. I’m just not going to do it like that,’” Kimmel said.

ABC relented.

“They knew I was serious,” he added. “I just couldn’t live with myself.”

Kimmel also explained why he thinks Trump will eventually go to jail and said he wants to be on the air when it happens.

See more of his conversation below:

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.