Jimmy Kimmel’s Emmys opening began with an expected reference—a nod to The People V. O.J. Simpson, which is expected to dominate the evening—but then Jeb Bush showed up, kicking things off with a random, and actually funny, cameo.
The bit finds Kimmel trying to hitchhike to the ceremony. He gets in a white bronco driven by Malcolm Jamal-Warner, a minivan filled by Modern Family’s Dunphy clan, and James Corden’s car of karaoke. After he’s denied entry into Selina Meyer’s (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) limo, he’s beckoned to the front seat. And, lo and behold, there’s Bush, licking his wounds with a bit of self-depreciation. “Here’s what I know, if you run a positive campaign, the voters ultimately will make the right choice,” Bush counsels. When Kimmel starts to respond in earnest, Bush interjects: “Jimmy that was a joke, get out of the car.” As he drives off, he declares: “Jeb exclamation point!”
Kimmel’s monologue also got political when he blamed The Apprentice executive producer Mark Burnett for Trump’s rise. “If Donald Trump gets elected and he builds that wall, the first person we’re throwing over it is Mark Burnett,” Kimmel said. Burnett laughed—even though it seemed like Kimmel was completely serious.