Outrage Grows at Jimmy Kimmel for His ‘Elitist’ Mockery of New DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin for Once Being a ‘Plumber’

ABC’s late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, is once again facing backlash for elitism and anti-MAGA nastiness, this time after he mocked President Trump’s new secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, for having been “a plumber” before entering politics. During his Tuesday monologue on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” which, despite its title, is pre-recorded, Mr. Kimmel belittled Mr. Mullin, who had just been sworn in as the secretary of Homeland Security. Mr. Kimmel said, “Trump’s got a whole new generation of thinkers lined up, including his newly confirmed secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne ‘Chuck Mike Bruce Dave’ Melon—Mullin. Maybe Melon’s better. He’s the now former senator of Oklahoma. Before he was elected to the Senate, Markwayne Mullin was a low-level MMA fighter and a plumber.”“That’s right. We have a plumber protecting us from terrorism now,” he said as the audience laughed. “It worked for Super Mario. Why not Markwayne? But honestly … I mean, if Trump is going to keep picking these unqualified people to run the department, why not have more fun with it? I mean, next time, instead of Markwayne, how about Lil Wayne for Homeland Security? At least we can get a concert out of it, right? Mullin is replacing Kristi Noem, who was ousted three weeks ago and will never be seen again.”The comment led to allegations of “elitism” and denunciations of Mr. Kimmel.The Daily Wire’s opinion editor, Benjamin Domenech, noted on X, “When Markwayne Mullin was 20 his dad’s health took a turn. He dropped out of college to run the family business. He built it from 6 people into a multimillion dollar HVAC company with 150+ employees.”Mr. Mullin also served 10 years in the House before he was elected to the Senate.Like Mr. Mullin, Mr. Kimmel dropped out of college (Arizona State) and went on to be a powerful political player. Mr. Kimmel is a major figure in Hollywood’s Democratic donor circles, and he emcee’d a major fundraiser in 2024 when he sat on stage and interviewed Presidents Biden and Obama.A former DHS spokeswoman, Tricia McLaughlin, wrote on X, “A plumber likely makes a heck of a lot more than the producer who wrote this ‘joke.’ The elitism is so grating.”A former CNN reporter, Chris Cillizza, said that Mr. Kimmel’s joke was “not a great a look.”“I don’t get it – it’s a flex AOC was a bartender but it’s a negative Markwayne was a plumber? You are such a hack,” wrote conservative commentator Meghan McCain. Senator Cynthia Lummis wrote, “The disdain for which the Democrats and Hollywood elites have for working class Americans – and folks who step up to do important jobs for their country – is shameful. These people need help.”Congressman Jason Smith said, “Woke Hollywood liberals truly despise everyday Americans. To Jimmy Kimmel, what’s disqualifying about leading a government agency is that Markwayne Mullin once was a plumber – a profession that employs nearly half a million hardworking Americans. These elites look instead for leaders who majored in subjects like gender studies or critical race theory – because that shows they are ‘educated.’”He added that “we need more people with life experiences like Secretary Mullin.”A lawyer, Jon Talotta, said that Mr. Kimmel “should fire his writers.” Meanwhile, other users called for ABC to fire the late-night host.“You have a PR nightmare on your hands. Easy solution though. Fire Kimmel,” one user said. Last year, Mr. Kimmel was suspended for roughly a week after he suggested that a “MAGA gang” was responsible for the shooting of Charlie Kirk, even as local officials described the suspect as having left-wing views.Two of the major station groups, Nexstar and Sinclair, which have conservative owners, announced that they would preempt Mr. Kimmel’s show because they said his comments were insensitive. Mr. Kimmel was off the air for about a week. But he returned to the air on September 23 with a defiant attitude, refusing to apologize for his comments and suggesting that people simply did not understand what he meant.It does not appear that ABC executives imposed consequences for his comments, and Mr. Kimmel signed a new contract with ABC shortly thereafter to remain at the network through May 2026. This comes as his anti-Trump counterpart at CBS, Stephen Colbert, is being canceled this coming May, supposedly for “financial reasons,” per parent company Paramount. ABC did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.

Outrage Grows at Jimmy Kimmel for His ‘Elitist’ Mockery of New DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin for Once Being a ‘Plumber’

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