Defiant Jimmy Kimmel Doubles Down on ‘Plumber’ Jokes About Markwayne Mullin, Draws in AOC

ABC’s late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, appears to be undaunted in the face of backlash over his criticism of President Trump’s new secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, doubling down on questioning his qualifications for the position because of his past job of running his family’s plumbing and HVAC company. Earlier this week, Mr. Kimmel took aim at the newly sworn-in DHS secretary, suggesting that he was not qualified to lead the agency because of his history as a “plumber.” The comment sparked fierce backlash, with President Trump calling for ABC to fire the left-wing talk show host.Yet, the host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” is showing no signs of backing down. On Thursday night, he doubled down on his comment.“The president and his pals in the MAGA media are not happy with me right now,” Mr. Kimmel said. “Trump even called into Fox to complain about me tonight. His apple polishers are all in a tizzy because I made light of the fact that his new head of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, before he was a senator, was a plumber and now he’s the head of Homeland Security, which is not necessarily the kind of resume you might hope for the person in charge of protecting us from terrorism.”The comment skipped over Mr. Mullin’s time in the House of Representatives, where he served for 10 years, and then the Senate. Mr. Kimmel then insisted he was not insulting plumbers, saying, “They decided to twist that to say it was an insult to plumbers, which it was not. I wouldn’t put a plumber in charge of Homeland Security for the same reason I wouldn’t call a Five-Star general to pull a rat out of my toilet. We all have our areas of expertise.”He tried to flip the criticism back onto conservatives by noting that some commentators criticized Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, suggesting she lacked experience because she worked as a bartender and had little experience in government before running for Congress. “Well, on behalf of bartenders everywhere, we anxiously await your apology,” Mr. Kimmel said. “You do the bartenders, I’ll do the plumbers.”Mr. Kimmel’s confidence underscores the extent of Mr. Kimmel’s power at ABC’s parent company, Disney, after he won a high-stakes standoff last year with his Disney bosses and two major local station groups after he was briefly suspended last year – and preempted by the Nexstar and Sinclair station groups – for suggesting that a “MAGA gang” was responsible for the shooting of Charlie Kirk. But about a week later, Mr. Kimmel was back on the air, without issuing an apology for his comments (Nexstar and Sinclair also lifted their preemptions). Instead of apologizing, Mr. Kimmel sought to put the blame for the outrage on people misunderstanding his words. Since then, he has appeared to be emboldened by the incident and the apparent lack of consequences. He has routinely skewered Mr. Trump, suggesting the strikes on Iran as part of “Operation Epic Fury” are meant to distract the public from allegedly damaging information about the president in the Epstein files. He also claimed that Mr. Trump wants to kill Americans. In December, Mr. Kimmel, a powerhouse figure in Hollywood’s Democratic fundraising efforts, signed a one-year contract extension. The decision to keep his show on the air, and to extend its run, stands in contrast to CBS, which canceled “The Late Show,” ending its three decade run and is parting ways with anti-Trump comedian Stephen Colbert. Democrats and left-wing commentators (including Mr. Kimmel) alleged that the decision to cancel Mr. Colbert’s show was an effort by CBS to placate the Trump Administration. The network says the motivation for the cancellation was “purely” financial. But the New York-based Mr. Colbert has long lacked Mr. Kimmel’s heft in the Los Angeles entertainment community, where he has deep friendships with top executives. Besides sympathetically interviewing left-wing guests and Democratic politicians — as Mr. Colbert has done — Mr. Kimmel has become a prolific Democratic fundraiser and has connections to powerful figures in the Democratic Party. In June 2024, he emcee’d a fundraiser at Los Angeles for President Biden, which President Obama attended, that raised $30 million. Mr. Kimmel has also frequently sent out fundraising emails to benefit other Democratic candidates. In 2024, he campaigned on behalf of Democrats in his home state of Nevada (which, unlike California, is a battleground state).ABC did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.

Defiant Jimmy Kimmel Doubles Down on ‘Plumber’ Jokes About Markwayne Mullin, Draws in AOC

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