David Letterman thinks he retired at the right time.
The late night legend, 78, was a guest Tuesday on Jimmy Kimmel Live! where he was asked if he missed having a large platform amid turbulent times.
‘Do you ever now when you’re at home in your palatial estate watching television think, “Oh man, I wish I was on tonight to talk about something that’s going on?”‘ Kimmel, 58, asked David Letterman.
David Letterman replied, ‘Boy, you would think, but no – I’m so glad to be out from under this mess.’
David Letterman departed primetime airwaves in May of 2015 – a month before Donald Trump announced he was running for the nation’s highest office.
David Letterman credited the current crop of late night hosts, including the man who inherited his slot, Stephen Colbert – for getting political on their programs.
‘People like you and people like Stephen and people like Seth [Meyers] do such a masterful job of defending this democracy,’ Letterman said. ‘About all I’m capable of is showing up every now and then and saying f*** Waymo and that’s it.’
David Letterman also credited Saturday Night Live’s political satire while appearing on the ABC late night show.
‘Thank God for you, thank God for others, SNL and everybody else,’ Letterman said. ‘It’s just, I think it’s the way things need to be in a democracy that’s seemingly this crippled.’
Kimmel said, ‘Well, I would prefer you limited it to me, but I appreciate those,’ adding The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart into the pool of names of entertainers they felt had been fighting the good fight amid politically divisive times.
Said Kimmel, ‘I mean, there are many others that we can include here.’
In the appearance, Letterman – who welcomed Trump as a guest multiple times on his show during the 80s and 90s – said he believed the commander-in-chief to have thin skin.
‘Irrespective of party or political ideology – if the leader of the free world is a fool, the leader of the free world, then, should expect and examine every bit of ridicule he receives,’ Letterman said.
Letterman said he was relieved that Kimmel had been extended, months after his professional fate was unclear following his September suspension after a series of controversial remarks about how politicians were reacting to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Letterman said, ‘Another year is twisting those folks at Disney – good for you.’
Letterman’s final show on CBS aired more than 10 years ago, as he departed the late night wars a year after longtime rival Jay Leno passed The Tonight Show baton to Jimmy Fallon.
The Indiana native’s departure from the airwaves marked the end of a prolific 33-year run that began with his avantgarde NBC show Late Night in 1982.
After a well-publicized falling-out with NBC after Leno was awarded The Tonight Show, Letterman departed for CBS in 1993 to host the 11:30 p.m. slot.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! can be seen Monday thru Friday at 11:35 p.m./10:35c on ABC.