Montage: Jimmy Kimmel’s history of partisan rhetoric, heated remarks against Republicans
The once apolitical late-night host interviewing President Biden this week has not been shy about ripping into Republicans in recent years.
With Joe Biden set to be interviewed by late night host Jimmy Kimmel this week, the ABC comedian, who has a history of partisan rhetoric, seems poised to offer the media-hesitant president a relatively safe space to avoid tough questions and criticism.
The president has gone over 100 days without any mainstream media interviews, successfully dodging questions as multiple crisis, including rising gas prices, inflation, and mass shootings, have shaken the nation. Biden’s pre-Super Bowl appearance on Feb. 10 with NBC’s Lester Holt was the last major interview the president had undertaken.
At the time, Biden, who frequently enjoys a less hostile press than his predecessor, became frustrated with Holt for questioning his claim that inflation was temporary. He told Holt that he was being a "wise guy" and claimed that inflation had been caused by a supply chain disruption that impeded U.S. imports.
The only two other interviews Biden has participated in since then were sit-downs in February with historian Heather Cox Richardson and progressive YouTube host Brian Tyler Cohen.
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President Joe Biden participates in a change-of-command ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard headquarters, Wednesday, June 1, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Kimmel’s interview with Biden is unlikely to provide serious challenge for the president.
Speaking with Fox News Digital, political satirist and SiriusXM host Tim Young characterized Kimmel as a "vessel for DNC talking points" and predicted that nothing of value was likely to be gleaned from the interview, aside from "propaganda pushing."
"America has record inflation, record gas prices and baby formula shortages, just to name a few major issues, so it's safe to assume Jimmy Kimmel will ask nothing about any of this, and if he does, there will be stock answers about how great things are and ZERO challenging follow-ups," Young said.
The once apolitical late-night host has not been shy about criticizing Republicans in recent years.
Just last month, Kimmel said he hoped that Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas would never be able to eat peacefully in a restaurant again. His comments came after the Republican senator was lambasted for a number of remarks he made defending gun rights in the wake of the Uvalde mass shooting. He was also criticized for attending an NRA national convention in the state.
Jimmy Kimmel often targets Republicans and conservatives on his show. (ABC/Randy Holmes)
In April 2021, Kimmel blasted Sen. Tim Scott’s, R-S.C., response to Biden’s congressional address, asserting that the Black senator was being used as a token for the Republican Party,
"An amazing thing happened after the speech," Kimmel said Thursday. "Every Black Republican senator got together to let the American people know the Republican Party isn't racist."
Kimmel similarly tore into Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., after she asked Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson what the definition of a woman was.
"I know the answer, you are a horrible woman," Kimmel said of Blackburn.
The late night host also recently claimed that Bill Cosby was a "more credible" television doctor than Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz.
In a cushy 2019 interview with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Kimmel begged Pelosi to throw Republicans in jail if they refused to testify in President Trump’s impeachment trial.
Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel present the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 22, 2019, in Los Angeles. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Kimmel has also blamed Vice President Kamala Harris’ low approval rating on sexism and racism (an explanation also pushed by the White House), has characterized Florida as "America’s North Korea," and has read a pro-vaccine book on air that repeatedly insinuated that Republicans were conspiracy theorists responsible for getting Americans sick.
Kimmel himself has addressed concerns that he has become too partisan in his late night show.
"I saw — I don’t know if it was a study or a poll or some combination of those two things — that, like, three years ago, I was equally liked by Republicans and Democrats, and then Republican numbers went way down, like, 30% or whatever," Kimmel told "CBS Sunday Morning" in 2017. "And, you know, as a talk-show host, that’s not ideal, but I would do it again in a heartbeat."
Kimmel was discussing, in part, his support for new gun control measures that were opposed by a large swathe of the GOP. He asserted that he doesn't really want those who disagree with his position on certain issues to have a conversation with him anyway.
"Good riddance?" the reporter followed up.
"Well, not good riddance, but riddance," Kimmel replied.
Speaking with Fox News Digital, comic and "Fox Across America" host Jimmy Failla urged Kimmel to focus more on being "undeniably funny" rather than engage in "partisan lecture disguised as comedy."
"If I were Kimmel I would make my politics A LOT less pronounced, but I don’t think there’s a way to put that toothpaste back in the tube," Failla said.
The comedian also said that Kimmel was "strategically chosen" because he acts as a "bouncy castle" for the soft landing the White House seems to be looking for.
"What a terrible look for a president who hasn’t done an interview since Feb. 10. That’s four CNN Pluses ago! People have every right to be disgusted by it. Biden promised us transparency and accountability, and now he’s running to the comfy confines of late night TV after vowing that ‘the buck stops with him,’" Failla added.
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Biden's appearance with the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" namesake comes amid a perilous time for his presidency. Biden's approval rating dipped to 39% toward the end of May in an AP-NORC poll, his worst mark since entering the White House. An ABC-IPSOS poll published Sunday found that just 28% of Americans approve of Biden's handling of inflation and 27% approve of his response to rising gas prices.
An AP poll from the same time last year showed the president having an approval rating of 63%, which was 24 points higher than his May 2022 rating.
Fox News’ Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.