Kimmel began his spiel joking it was the “worst taco Tuesday of my whole life” following Trump’s decisive victory after claiming multiple battleground states.

The Republican won both the electoral college vote and the popular vote, marking a historic comeback after facing criminal convictions, assassination attempts and a change of political opponent.

“We had the choice between the prosecutor and a criminal and we chose the criminal to be president of the United States,” Kimmel said.

Jimmy Kimmel was on the verge of breaking down in tears over Donald Trump’s election win during his opening monologue. Picture: Jimmy Kimmel Live!

It took a more sombre tone as Kimmel’s eyes visibly began to well up and his voice cracked, with the host fighting to contain his tears. Picture: Jimmy Kimmel Live!

“Donald Trump is like the Emperor from Star Wars, he’s old, he’s evil and he keeps coming back with no reasonable explanation whatsoever.”

Kimmel began to list the various groups of Americans he believed would be particularly impacted, saying it was a “terrible night” for “women, for children, for the hundreds of thousands of hardworking immigrants who make this country go”.

It took a more sombre tone as Kimmel’s eyes began to well up and his voice cracked, with the host fighting to contain his tears.

Trump won not only the electoral college vote but the popular vote, marking a historic comeback after facing criminal convictions, assassination attempts and a change of political opponent. Picture: AP Photo/Evan Vucci.

“For healthcare, for our climate, for science, for journalism, for justice, for free speech, it was a terrible night for poor people, for the Middle Class, for seniors who rely on social security, for our allies in Ukraine, for NATO, for the truth and democracy and decency,” he said.

“It was a terrible night for everyone who voted against him, and guess what,  it was a bad night for everyone who voted for him too, you just don’t realise it yet.”

Trying to shift the mood to focus on the more “positive” aspects, he said: “The best I can come up with is we’ve been through this once before and yes, this time it’s probably going to be worse, maybe a lot worse.”

“But I also think that maybe we will look back and realise that, in the long run this is what we needed to wake us up, maybe the people who care so much about him need to find out how little he cares about them.”

He said Trump now had the opportunity to prove himself and deliver on his pledges for the benefit of the US.

“All the promises he makes about stopping wars, and opposing tariffs and how he’s going to crush inflation and cut taxes, now he has to do this stuff,” he said.

“And I hope he does, I really do, I hope his next unpredictable act is to reach across the aisle and do something positive … he has the opportunity to win us over.”

It came as numerous other late-night hosts reacted to Trump’s victory, with CBS’ Stephen Colbert opening with, “If you watch this show regularly I’m guessing you’re not doing great. Yeah, me neither.”

Jimmy Fallon began The Tonight Show quipping America “decided to get back with a crazy ex” and joking, “It was a tough night for Democrats, today they turned to Elon Musk, ‘so tell me more about living on Mars, how close are we’”.