Author Topic: Jimmy Kimmel's dig at 'plumber' DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin ripped as 'elite' by online critics  (Read 328 times)

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Online mystery-ak

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Jimmy Kimmel's dig at 'plumber' DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin ripped as 'elite' by online critics
The former Oklahoma senator was sworn in as secretary of homeland security on Tuesday
By Lindsay Kornick Fox News
Published March 25, 2026 8:27pm EDT

ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was called out for mocking newly confirmed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin as an "unqualified" plumber during his monologue Tuesday night.

"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," Kimmel said. "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. It worked for Super Mario. Why not Markwayne?"

He continued, "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?"


https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2036848845263442330

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https://www.foxnews.com/media/jimmy-kimmels-dig-plumber-dhs-secretary-markwayne-mullin-ripped-elite-online-critics
Democrat Party...the Party of Infanticide

"Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience"
Mark Twain


“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
-Matthew 6:34


Smokin Joe: Stupid people vote. If you have enough of them, you don’t need to steal an election

Offline escapeefromtaxachusetts

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The elitists forget that it is the trades, HVAC, plumbers, electricians, carpenters who make this country. The same people who can't change a light bulb or change their oil or even hang  picture look down at those who work with their hands..
That's ok, the trades will never be outsourced or made redundant by AI.
"If you see an a**hole, there's an a**hole. If everywhere you look there's an a**hole, maybe you're the a**hole."

Online Wingnut

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The elitists forget that it is the trades, HVAC, plumbers, electricians, carpenters who make this country. The same people who can't change a light bulb or change their oil or even hang  picture look down at those who work with their hands..
That's ok, the trades will never be outsourced or made redundant by AI.

Amen. 
You don’t become cooler with age but you do care progressively less about being cool, which is the only true way to actually be cool.

Online mystery-ak

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The elitists forget that it is the trades, HVAC, plumbers, electricians, carpenters who make this country. The same people who can't change a light bulb or change their oil or even hang  picture look down at those who work with their hands..
That's ok, the trades will never be outsourced or made redundant by AI.

This  pointing-up
Democrat Party...the Party of Infanticide

"Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience"
Mark Twain


“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
-Matthew 6:34


Smokin Joe: Stupid people vote. If you have enough of them, you don’t need to steal an election

Online mystery-ak

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Democrat Party...the Party of Infanticide

"Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience"
Mark Twain


“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
-Matthew 6:34


Smokin Joe: Stupid people vote. If you have enough of them, you don’t need to steal an election

Online Wingnut

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HS grads fix what college educated idiots break. 
You don’t become cooler with age but you do care progressively less about being cool, which is the only true way to actually be cool.

Offline Hoodat

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The college dropout rich kid said what?
If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.     -Dwight Eisenhower-

"The [U.S.] Constitution is a limitation on the government, not on private individuals ... it does not prescribe the conduct of private individuals, only the conduct of the government ... it is not a charter for government power, but a charter of the citizen's protection against the government."     -Ayn Rand-

Offline escapeefromtaxachusetts

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I am positioned uniquely as my background is decidedly blue collar ( mom worked in an office and dad had a gas station/ repair shop and my first job at 9 years old was pumping gas and studding tires) ( yeah I am that old) and going out with him late at night to fix truck tires on  the interstate as cars whiz buy at 70 mph a few feet away. I actually worked the front desk in grad school on Saturdays so he could have a day off.
I was fortunate to become a health care professional who didn’t forget his roots. I practice in a blue collar area ( the only thing blue about the area) and relate well to them. Many of them kid me when they see me doing my own repairs around the office and know it’s not because I’m cheap but because a) I can and b) I enjoy it. Maybe a little cheap but more Dave Ramsey-esque of living below my means. My patients who are plumbers, electricians, solar panel installers, HVAC are buying houses and condos at 25 years old,  not saddled with 200K college debt for a useless degree.
Recently the wife  ( who is also white collar w blue collar roots) and I went out to dinner with couple who complained that one of their neighbors, a plumber kept his work vehicle in the driveway and they thought it was an eyesore. I very nicely reminded them that those people in the trades make this country work and when you need one, they are there 24/7/365. I must have been a little vocal because my wife was kicking me under the table to lighten up. When we left restaurant, my wife simply looked at me and said, “ guess we’re not going out to dinner with them again, are we?”  “Nope”
I see the elitism where we live but when the crap hits the fan, it's the guys who work with their hands and have tools who fix things and get things running again.
Kimmel is the personification of the guy who looks down at those who get their hands dirty for a living.
« Last Edit: March 27, 2026, 03:00:41 pm by escapeefromtaxachusetts »
"If you see an a**hole, there's an a**hole. If everywhere you look there's an a**hole, maybe you're the a**hole."

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Maybe a plumber can unstop the drain of the Washington swamp!  :crossed:
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Online Bigun

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I am positioned uniquely as my background is decidedly blue collar ( mom worked in an office and dad had a gas station/ repair shop and my first job at 9 years old was pumping gas and studding tires) ( yeah I am that old) and going out with him late at night to fix truck tires on  the interstate as cars whiz buy at 70 mph a few feet away. I actually worked the front desk in grad school on Saturdays so he could have a day off.
I was fortunate to become a health care professional who didn’t forget his roots. I practice in a blue collar area ( the only thing blue about the area) and relate well to them. Many of them kid me when they see me doing my own repairs around the office and know it’s not because I’m cheap but because a) I can and b) I enjoy it. Maybe a little cheap but more Dave Ramsey-esque of living below my means. My patients who are plumbers, electricians, solar panel installers, HVAC are buying houses and condos at 25 years old,  not saddled with 200K college debt for a useless degree.
Recently the wife  ( who is also white collar w blue collar roots) and I went out to dinner with couple who complained that one of their neighbors, a plumber kept his work vehicle in the driveway and they thought it was an eyesore. I very nicely reminded them that those people in the trades make this country work and when you need one, they are there 24/7/365. I must have been a little vocal because my wife was kicking me under the table to lighten up. When we left restaurant, my wife simply looked at me and said, “ guess we’re not going out to dinner with them again, are we?”  “Nope”
I see the elitism where we live but when the crap hits the fan, it's the guys who work with their hands and have tools who fix things and get things running again.
Kimmel is the personification of the guy who looks down at those who get their hands dirty for a living.

 :hands: :hands: :hands: :hands: :hands: :hands: :hands: :hands: :hands: :hands:
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Offline mountaineer

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Mike Rowe commented on his Facebook page:
Quote
Mike Rowe

If you haven’t heard, and even if you have, Jimmy Kimmel said this about Markwayne Mullin, former Senator from Oklahoma, and our newest Secretary of Homeland Security:   “We have a plumber now protecting us from terrorism.”

Apparently, there has been some backlash. Plumbers were offended, obviously, as were parents of plumbers, spouses of plumbers, children of plumbers, and millions of people who have had a plumber show up when they needed one. Comedians were also offended, (the funny ones, anyway,) along with a surprising number of terrorists - especially those with access to hot and cold running water. However, in spite of the ensuing kerfuffle, Kimmel doubled down.

“I’m not upset that the head of Homeland Security was a plumber,” he said, “I’m upset that he isn’t still a plumber." He further elucidated by adding, "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, OK? We all have our areas of expertise.”

Being offended is always a choice, and I don’t choose to be offended by a joke, even one that comes at the expense of the skilled tradespeople my foundation tries to elevate. But I am a tad butt hurt by the suggestion that skilled workers should never evolve into something new, and that competence is somehow limited to one vocation. Obviously, expertise and skill are important. If I need a new kidney, I’d prefer a doctor do the surgery, not a late night talk show host. But if the doctor in question used to host a talk show, why would I hold that against him?

Ten years ago, during one of the presidential debates, Marco Rubio answered a workforce-related question by arguing that America needed to get shop class back into high schools. He concluded by saying, “What our country needs are more welders and fewer philosophers.” A lot of people on this page commented that Rubio and I were singing from the same hymnal, but in fact, we weren’t. At least not entirely. Because I don’t think the current shortage of welders has anything to do with an overabundance of philosophers. In fact, I think it’s a mistake to promote one vocation at the expense of the other. What we really need in this country, are more welders who can talk intelligently about Aristotle, and more philosophers who can run an even bead. More Generals, in other words, who can fix their own toilets, and more plumbers who can hold a powerful government job.

This is what Mullin did. He was a private citizen who mastered an essential skill, and then turned that skill into a multi-million-dollar company that employed a lot of people and served a lot of customers. That gave him the freedom to do other things with his life, including a career in public service which got him into Congress, where he’s spent the last eleven years doing whatever Congressmen do. Now, he has a very consequential position in the Cabinet of the current administration.

Is that not the embodiment of the American Dream? I get that Jimmy Kimmel might have a problem with Mullin’s politics, but what possible objection could he have about the trajectory of his career, or his desire to do more than one thing with his life?

The only sensible thing to do in the wake of a moment this tone deaf, is remind America that the skills gap is wide, and getting wider. The shortage of skilled tradespeople is now headline news, and closing it is nothing less than a matter of national security. This year, my foundation has set aside $10 million dollars to help train the next generation of plumbers, and lots of other essential workers. I'm talking about hundreds of thousands of AI-proof, six figure jobs that don't require a four-year degree, waiting to be filled. The money is currently available to anyone who wants to master a useful skill at mikeroweWORKS.org. Apply today.

As for those of you genuinely offended by Kimmel's comments, consider expressing your disappointment with a modest donation to mikeroweWORKS. Our work ethic scholarship is making a real difference, and your money will be well spent, I promise. The donate button is big and red and hard to miss, at mikeroweWORKS.org.

I’d love to chat but I’ve gotta pull a rat out of my toilet…

Offline libertybele

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The elitists forget that it is the trades, HVAC, plumbers, electricians, carpenters who make this country. The same people who can't change a light bulb or change their oil or even hang  picture look down at those who work with their hands..
That's ok, the trades will never be outsourced or made redundant by AI.

 :thumbsup:
Live in  harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly, do not claim to be wiser than you are.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.  If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Romans 12:16-18

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Mike Rowe commented on his Facebook page:

He posted that on X too....
I don’t owe tolerance to people who disagree with my existence.
I will NOT comply.
 
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Offline Canuck Conservative

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Jimmy Kimmel is a classless piece of sh*t ... and he's no comedian

The irony is, Kimmel USED to be a carpet installer himself ... but apparently that trades-life isn't respected by him or his peeps anymore
The elimination of the evil Soviet Union was one of the most glorious moments in Human History!!