Jimmy Kimmel mocked MAGA supporters and conservatives for hypocrisy following conservative criticism of his comments about Markwayne Mullin. Kimmel claims they bashed Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s humble roots equally hard.
When Jimmy Kimmel brought up criticism he received earlier in the week for questioning Markwayne Mullin’s qualifications to head Homeland Security by saying, “Remember when I told everyone how great it was that the head of Homeland Security used to be a plumber? Well, I got some c–p for that,” according to his show monologue.
Conservatives had argued that calling Mullin a plumber was offensive to blue-collar workers.
Jimmy Kimmel tried to clean up his comments about Markwayne Mullin being a former plumber, but he tried to have it both ways. First he doubled down ignoring Mullin’s management experience with his plumbing company “[Trump’s] apple polishers are all in a tizzy because I made light… pic.twitter.com/3zqd1AG6r9
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) March 27, 2026
Kimmel then pivoted back at conservatives for their reaction compared to how they’ve spoken about Ocasio-Cortez. “Listen, let me make this very clear, I’m not upset that the head of Homeland Security used to be a plumber. I’m upset that he isn’t still a plumber,” Kimmel continued.
“The best part of all of this, all the outrage from Finnerty and Hannity and The Five, is that I distinctly remember some very serious concerns resume-wise, when it came to a certain former bartender from New York,” Kimmel said.
Opponents of Kimmel’s statement disagree with his analogy, pointing out that conservatives and publications he cited did not specifically say that criticizing Ocasio-Cortez was an attack against bartenders as a profession, but instead criticized Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s age and her limited work experience when she ran for Congress, questioning if being a bartender alone qualified as experience in office.
Markwayne Mullin actually founded and grew a plumbing company into one of the largest in Texas. He accumulated experience budgeting, staffing and running regulatory compliance for a larger scale business as well as time in elected office.
Jimmy Kimmel is now insulting DHS Sec Markwayne Mullin because he used to work as a plumber.
As if you couldn’t hate elitist Hollywood leftists any morepic.twitter.com/NAa21bgKKR
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 25, 2026
Supporters say that combination reflects a broader professional and governing background, making the comparison between the two less direct—more a case of apples to oranges than a true parallel. Kimmel went on to air a compilation of segments from Fox News and Newsmax featuring hosts and commentators questioning Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s qualifications, often pointing to her previous work as a bartender.
In one clip, conservative commentator Benny Johnson remarked, “She has no idea where Venezuela is on a map, because they don’t teach geography in bartending school.” Another segment featured John Kennedy, who quipped, “The congresswoman is kinda like Vice President Kamala Harris but with more bartending experience.”
Referencing the earlier criticism, Jimmy Kimmel added, “Well, on behalf of bartenders everywhere, we anxiously await your apology. You do the bartenders. I’ll do the plumbers.”
He also claimed conservatives went “nuts on every channel” about his plumber jab. “Of course, 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.”
There is zero love lost between Jimmy Kimmel and President Donald Trump. During an episode of “The Five” on Fox News last night, the president dubbed Kimmel “a loser” when responding to the comic’s jokes about Mullin.
“He’s a loser. He gets no ratings. None. He’s got no talent. He’s got Trump Derangement Syndrome,” President Trump said. “Whenever I watch him, I just can’t believe he’s even on the air.”
