Vice President JD Vance brushed off late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s recent mockery of newly confirmed Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin. During the interview, he statedthat the comedian’s commentary carries little weight with him.
The exchange stemmed from a segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where Kimmel poked fun at Mullin’s background before entering politics. Introducing the newly confirmed official, Kimmel joked about the administration assembling what he described as “a whole new generation of thinkers.”
“Trump’s got a whole new generation of thinkers lined up, including his newly confirmed Secretary of Homeland Security, Markywayne, Chuck Mike, Bruce Dave Mullin,” Kimmel said, intentionally stumbling over the name for comedic effect before continuing the bit.
Kimmel then turned his attention to Mullin’s career history, highlighting his time working in the trades and competing in mixed martial arts. Before entering public life, Mullin ran a plumbing and electrical company in Oklahoma and competed in regional MMA bouts during his younger years.
“Before he was elected to the Senate, Markywayne Mullin was a low-level MMA athlete and a plumber,” Kimmel said. “That’s right. We have a plumber protecting us from t*rrorism now.”
He capped the segment with a pop-culture punchline, adding, “Oh, it worked for Super Mario. Why not Markywayne Mullin?”
The jokes quickly circulated online and drew criticism from commentators who argued that ridiculing someone for having worked as a plumber or competed in combat sports reflects a bias within certain media circles toward traditional elite credentials.
During a recent interview, Vance was asked directly about Kimmel’s remarks. The Vice President responded with a brief but pointed dismissal, signaling that he had little interest in engaging with the comedian’s commentary.
“You’ll be surprised to find out that I don’t watch Jimmy Kimmel on the regular,” Vance said. “I deal with enough annoying people as it is.”
For Vance, who has written extensively about growing up in a working-class Appalachian family in his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, the mockery of a blue-collar background likely resonated on a personal level.
Meanwhile, Mullin has stepped into one of the most demanding positions in the current administration. As Secretary of Homeland Security, he now oversees border security, countert*rrorism coordination, disaster response, and immigration enforcement.
