NEED TO KNOW

• During the Jan. 6 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Jimmy Kimmel addressed the five-year anniversary of the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021
• In his speech, Kimmel slammed President Donald Trump for the incident and his public insistence that his loss to Joe Biden in 2020 was fraudulent
• That same day, the Trump administration launched a website blaming Democrats and mischaracterizing the event that left several dead

Jimmy Kimmel is condemning President Donald Trump’s response to the deadly riot that took place at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

On the fifth anniversary of the insurrection, during which a mob of Trump’s angry supporters attacked the Capitol in Washington, D.C. for 187 minutes, the late-night host addressed the infamous day during his opening monologue for Jimmy Kimmel Live!. 

“Five years ago today, after losing what eventually judges from both sides in cities all around the country unanimously declared to be a free and fair election, Donald Trump tried to overthrow our government in a pathetic and illegal attempt to stay in the White House,” Kimmel, 58, began. “There’s no other way to put it. You cannot look at the facts objectively and come to any conclusion other than that.”

Attributing Vice President-at-the-time Mike Pence’s refusal to claim Joe Biden’s win was due to voter fraud as the reason for the attack, Kimmel slammed Trump, 79, for continuing to push the narrative.

“When Mike Pence chose the Constitution over his running mate, Trump got his supporters all riled up and sent them to the capital, where they staged a violent and deadly riot, which he enjoyed from the comfort of his office for hours on television until someone in his circle begged and pleaded with him to half-heartedly call them off,” Kimmel stated. “It was a selfish, disgraceful, tyrannical and dangerous act. And I think it’s important — I think it’s very important — that we do not forget that, that we don’t give in to this revisionist history.”

“Five years ago today, we saw proof live in front of our eyes that the American president is as un-American as they come,” he added, joking, “So I just wanted to mention that before I wish you all a happy January 6. Happy ‘stormversary,’ everybody.”

This came just hours after the Trump administration launched a website belonging to the White House’s official government domain that centers around the events of Jan. 6, 2021. It claims that Democrats “staged the real insurrection” by eventually certifying former President Biden’s 2020 election victory and further refers to rioters as “peaceful patriotic protestors.”

The attack left five dead, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who suffered two strokes hours after engaging with rioters, in addition to four law enforcement officers who have since died by suicide. As one of his first official acts as president, just hours after his second term began in January 2025, Trump pardoned all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in connection.

While the site lists members of the pro-Trump mob who died due to the riot, it does not mention Sicknick, the officers who died in the aftermath or the nearly 140 officers injured by weapons. In fact, its timeline states that “zero law enforcement officers lost their lives” and accuses Capitol Police officers of violence, even as they protected lawmakers.

The timeline, which, as ABC News noted, “grossly mischaracterized events” of what happened after Trump insisted the election had been stolen from him, also claims that the protesting Trump supporters were “orderly” and “peaceful.”

It goes on to call Pence’s certification of Biden’s victory an “act of cowardice and sabotage,” labeling 2020 as “the greatest election theft in U.S. history, with widespread fraud deliberately ignored by courts, officials and the media.” It also says that Democrats, many of whom were targeted by the rioters, “masterfully reversed reality” by referring to the riot as a coup attempt.

The main page features House Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi alongside members of the House select committee that investigated the riot, all of whom the site accuses of “producing a scripted TV spectacle to fabricate an ‘insurrection’ narrative and pin all blame on President Trump.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.  

Trump echoed the sentiments in a speech at the Kennedy Center on Tuesday, Jan. 6, per Politico. The outlet further reported that a statement from Ian Krager, a spokesperson for Pelosi, 85, said the administration’s “ongoing attempts to whitewash the deadly insurrection are shameful, unpatriotic, and pathetic.”

“Numerous independent fact-checkers have confirmed again and again that Speaker Pelosi did not plan her own assassination on January 6th,” Krager continued. “Cherry-picked, out-of-context clips do not change the fact that the Speaker of the House is not in charge of the security of the Capitol Complex — on January 6th or any other day of the week.”