BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Jimmy Kimmel weighed in on tragedy, politics and Mark Burnett in an appearance Monday at the Television Critics Association.

He was ostensibly here to promote his late-night talk show, which he's hosted since 2003; more live restagings of classic sitcoms, planned for December and May; and "Generation Gap," a new comedic game show he's producing with Burnett ("The Apprentice"), whom he's mocked for helping elect Donald Trump president.

But the conversation quickly veered to his interest in running for office (he's not), and late-night hosts' role in addressing national tragedies, like the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, over the weekend.

"Now there's an expectation that late-night talk shows will address these horrible things," he says. "And I wish we didn't have to, but no one's doing anything about it all. We seem to forget about these national tragedies four days after they happen." He says most Americans "believe we should have background checks for purchases at gun shows, and our politicians don't seem to care what we think any more."

He accepts the obligation to address them for viewers seeking comfort and comedy before bedtime. "David Letterman started that role, and then Jon Stewart said, and continues to say, a lot of important things. You watch the news all day you see what's going on, how do you walk on stage and ignore it? You can't. I don't like to talk about serious subjects; I want to be funny."

So why does he do it? "I think people, when they watch a late-night TV show, they know you more than (in) any format, and they want to know what you think. I wish we didn't have to do it so frequently."

Other topics:

He almost quit, before signing a three-year contract extension: "I was seriously considering (leaving)," he says. "The job is a grind, but I really do like" new ABC management, "and I felt appreciated, which is important. Also, a lot of my relatives would be unemployed if I quit the show."

He doesn't really think Burnett planned Donald Trump's election: "There's no way he had the vision to expect that this monster would one day become president. If he did, then we should be paying more attention to everything he does."

The good and bad of social media: "Most of what comes out of Twitter is terrible, but Twitter is a great place to find writers," in an effort to make his staff more representative. "Instead of diverse writers coming to us, we have been able to seek them out. That has brought a lot more in the way of diversity to our writers' room."

Why he doesn't want to host the Oscars again: It's a "no-win situation; it was a very difficult job," he says. "If you don't care what people say, it's a good gig. But I do, so for me it's an (expletive) nightmare."