Los Angeles, Mar 11 (IANS): Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel took a moment during the live telecast, right before Al Pacino presented Best Picture, to read aloud the Republican Party's presumptive presidential candidate Donald Trump's latest social media post. It bashed Kimmel as this year's Oscars host, reports 'Variety'.

"Has there EVER been a WORSE HOST than Jimmy Kimmel at The Oscars. His opening was that of a less than average person trying too hard to be something which he is not, and never can be. Get rid of Kimmel and perhaps replace him with another washed up, but cheap, ABC 'talent', George Slopanopoulos," Trump thundered.

He was of course referring to George Stephanopoulos. "He would make everybody on stage look bigger, stronger, and more glamorous," Trump added.

Continuing with his rant, quoted in full by 'Variety', Trump said: "Also a really bad politically correct show tonight, and for years -- disjointed, boring, and very unfair."

He concluded by asking: "Why don't they just give the Oscars to those that deserve them. Maybe that way their audience and TV ratings will come back from the depths. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

Kimmel fired back at Trump onstage by saying, "Blah, blah, blah ... Okay, now, see if you can guess which former president just posted that on TruthSocial. Anyone? No? Well, thank you, President Trump. Thank you for watching, I'm surprised you're still -- isn’t it past your jail time?"

Outside of Kimmel's dig, 'Variety' notes, "before the final award was announced, the 2024 Oscars were a largely Trump-free evening".

Politics still played a prominent part, as was to be expected at a high-profile event such as the Oscars. A number of attendees, including Mark Ruffalo and Billie Eilish, wore red pins in support of a ceasefire in Gaza.

Protests related to the ongoing conflict in Gaza drew hundreds of attendees around Kodak Theater and ended up blocking so much traffic that the ceremony started five minutes late.