Jimmy Kimmel says he wants to have Trump on his show: 'I feel like I could turn him around on a couple of things'

The comedian opened up about his upcoming Brooklyn shows.

ByABC News
October 13, 2017, 8:06 AM

— -- Jimmy Kimmel admits he would love to have frequent target President Donald Trump as a guest on his hit live show, telling ABC News, "I have a lot of questions for Donald Trump."

"Maybe this is crazy, but I feel like I could turn him around on a couple of things," Kimmel said in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Amy Robach for "Good Morning America." "I think he needs to be surrounded by better people. ... I just think he's changed positions so frequently.

"I want to know what happened to the Donald Trump ... who was a Democrat?" added Kimmel, who has recently made headlines for speaking out about issues such as gun violence and health care.

'Brooklyn is a magical place'

The comedian, who will be broadcasting his hit live show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live," from his birthplace of Brooklyn, New York, all throughout next week, told ABC News that "Brooklyn is a magical place."

"And not just the food ... but the people there," Kimmel added. "Every time I bring my kids there, I feel guilty that they don't get to just run around the neighborhood with a bunch of other kids, cause we don't really do that here in L.A."

Kimmel added that in Los Angeles, "We don't really know our neighbors until we're being deposed by them."

PHOTO: Comedian Jimmy Kimmel opens up about his new shows in Brooklyn in an interview with ABC News' Amy Robach, Oct. 13, 2017.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel opens up about his new shows in Brooklyn in an interview with ABC News' Amy Robach, Oct. 13, 2017.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live: Back to Brooklyn" will tape at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Howard Gilman Opera House, and is slated to feature former long-time "Late Show" host David Letterman in his first late-night appearance since retiring.

"This is the first time he's done a late-night show since his last show, and that's terrifying for me," Kimmel admitted. "I feel like I've been preparing questions for Dave for my whole life."

In addition to Letterman, Kimmel said his Brooklyn shows will also feature guests including Billy Joel, Howard Stern, Amy Schumer and Tracy Morgan.

'I had to say something'

This May, Kimmel spoke candidly about his son, Billy, who was born with a heart defect and had to have an emergency life-saving surgery. His monologue quickly garnered an outpouring of support from fans. Kimmel said he received letters from former presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama following his plea with politicians to guarantee American families universal health care.

Kimmel said Billy is currently doing well, and described his son as "very smiley" and "very cute."

"We're getting ready to have another operation," Kimmel added of his son.

"We needed him to just get big because it makes an operation easier," he added. "A bigger heart is easier to operate on. And he's been doing very well with that."

When asked by Robach what made him veer from his usual comedy routines to tackling issues such as the health care, Kimmel said that it wasn't "something that I discussed with anyone, other than my wife."

"But I did know that I had to say something when I came back," he said. "I'd been talking about the fact that my wife was pregnant for some time. And then all of a sudden, I was gone for a week."

Kimmel also explained his swift reaction when President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., questioned why he didn’t immediately speak publicly on Harvey Weinstein, the powerful movie producer now facing dozens of accusations of sexual misconduct.

“Harvey Weinstein is … not a friend of mine. I'm not in the movie business,” said Kimmel, who added that Trump Jr.’s “job seems to be tweeting.”

“And I'll add that story came out, like, I think moments before we went to tape on Thursday, and we didn't have a show on Friday,” Kimmel continued.

Kimmel discussed the allegations against Weinstein on his show Monday. He called it “convenient” that Trump Jr., as well as pro-gun advocates, are criticizing his reactions to Weinstein and the recent Las Vegas mass shooting. “Now what they’re doing now is they're trying to drag up any kind … take any comedy bit I did out of context and use it as some kind of proof,” he said. “They're saying that I'm calling myself the moral conscience of America, which I most certainly never did and most certainly never would.”

Kimmel said that fans can expect some "surprises" from his Brooklyn shows.

"We have some people that are going to show up. We have some events that I think will be meaningful to tell people about," he added. "We hope it'll be a great week."

The first of the five "Jimmy Kimmel Live: Back to Brooklyn" shows will air on Monday, Oct. 16, on ABC.

PHOTO: Comedian Jimmy Kimmel opens up about his new shows in Brooklyn in an interview with ABC News' Amy Robach, Oct. 13, 2017.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel opens up about his new shows in Brooklyn in an interview with ABC News' Amy Robach, Oct. 13, 2017.

ABC News' Lesley Messer contributed to this report