Trump had famously called Streep, nominated for her 20th Oscar this year for "Florence Foster Jenkins", "uninspiring" and "overrated" after she had criticised him at the Golden Globes.
Kimmel, without ever naming Trump, said, "One actress has stood the test of time for her many uninspiring and overrated performances. (She's) phoned it in for more than 50 films. This is Meryl's 20th Oscar nomination ... She wasn't even in a movie this year, we just wrote her name in out of habit."
In the beginning, however, Kimmel seemed reluctant to address the elephant in the room, saying he was told to do so by many but felt he can't do it.
"There's only one 'Braveheart' in the room. And he's not going to unite us either," he said of Oscar-winner Mel Gibson, who is nominated for best director again this year for his new film "Hacksaw Ridge."
Kimmel said if everyone watching right now "took a moment to reach out to one person you disagree with and have a positive, considerate conversation ... We could really make America great again."
Kimmel's first crack on Trump was thanking him because, "remember when last year the Oscars were considered racist?"
After picking on Oscar nominee Denzel Washington for directing himself in the film "Fences," he teased French actress and nominee Isabelle Huppert.
"We didn't see 'Elle,' but we absolutely loved it. I'm glad Homeland Security let you in tonight," he said, taking an obvious swipe at Trump's order banning people from seven Muslim-majority countries.
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