President Donald Trump launched into a fiery tirade against late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday, calling into Fox News’ “The Five” to demand the comedian lose his job after Kimmel roasted the president’s newly confirmed Department of Homeland Security Secretary.
The 79-year-old president’s fury stemmed from Kimmel’s monologue mocking Markwayne Mullin, the 48-year-old former Oklahoma senator who was confirmed March 23 as the replacement for Kristi Noem, whom Trump fired as his first cabinet casualty of his second term.
“He’s a loser. He gets no ratings. He’s got no talent. He’s got Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Trump told the Fox News hosts during his phone call on March 26. “Whenever I watch, I just can’t believe that he’s even on the air. He shouldn’t be on the air. He should be canned.”
Kimmel had dedicated several minutes of his March 25 monologue to Mullin following the White House swearing-in ceremony, highlighting the new secretary’s previous careers as a plumber and MMA fighter. The comedian compared Mullin to Super Mario, joking that America now has “a plumber protecting us from terrorism.” He then quipped: “Next time instead of Markwayne, how about Lil Wayne for Homeland Security? At least we can get a concert out of it.”
The new DHS chief actually boasts a more impressive fighting résumé than Kimmel suggested. According to official records, Mullin compiled an undefeated professional MMA record before entering politics, though sources differ on whether his record was 5-0 or 3-0. Trump himself pushed back on the “low-level” characterization during The Five appearance, noting that Mullin “had a very good record in fighting” and his opponents were “rough cookies.”
The controversy erupted weeks after Trump announced Noem’s firing on Truth Social on March 5, making her the first cabinet member dismissed during his second presidency. Noem had faced two disastrous congressional hearings in the Senate and House that week, including explosive testimony about a $200 million advertising campaign that featured her prominently—including footage of the secretary on horseback at Mount Rushmore. Trump later denied approving the lavish spending. “I never knew anything about it,” he told Reuters.
Trump reassigned Noem to a newly created position as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, describing it as “our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.” Kimmel mercilessly mocked the role, telling his audience he wished Noem luck in her “brand new, completely made-up job.”
The late-night host didn’t back down when Trump and conservative lawmakers attacked him for supposedly insulting blue-collar workers. Texas Senator Ted Cruz posted that he prefers “plumbers to woke & unfunny comedians,” while Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis accused Kimmel of showing “disdain for working class Americans.”
Georgia Representative Mike Collins piled on, writing that “the elites too often look down their noses at blue collar, middle America” and noting that calling a senator a plumber “doesn’t do him justice”—pointing out that Mullin built a successful business that provides jobs for many families.
Kimmel addressed the backlash directly on his Thursday show, clarifying that critics had deliberately twisted his words to claim he insulted plumbers. “I’m not upset that the head of Homeland Security used to be a plumber,” Kimmel shot back. “I’m upset that he isn’t still a plumber!”
The comedian elaborated on his actual complaint: “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.”
Trump defended his choice during the Fox News call, praising Mullin’s business acumen running his family’s plumbing company and calling him “country smart.” The president predicted Mullin would “do a fantastic job” and said “everybody loves him.”
Before entering politics, Mullin took over his father’s struggling plumbing business at age 20 when his father fell ill. Over nearly three decades, he and his wife Christie expanded Mullin Plumbing into the largest service company in the region. He served ten years in the House and three years in the Senate before Trump tapped him for DHS. Notably, Mullin is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation and was the first Native American senator since Ben Nighthorse Campbell retired in 2005.
The Senate confirmed Mullin in a 54-45 vote, with Democratic Senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico crossing party lines to support him. Republican Senator Rand Paul was the sole GOP vote against Mullin’s nomination, questioning whether a man with what he called “anger issues” should lead an agency grappling with use-of-force controversies.
The feud represents the latest clash between Trump and Kimmel, who has emerged as one of the president’s most consistent late-night critics. Kimmel also took aim at Noem’s controversial advertising campaign, which featured the former secretary in various outfits “rounding up immigrants and riding a horse.”
DHS pushed back on the mockery with a statement to Fox News Digital: “DHS is too busy arresting gang members, terrorists, pedophiles, rapists, murderers, and other criminal illegal aliens to engage in this kind of silliness.”
As the war of words continues, neither Trump nor Kimmel shows any sign of backing down from their ongoing feud, which has dominated headlines and social media discussions throughout the week.
Sources:
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2026/03/24/us-senate-confirms-markwayne-mullin-secretary-department-homeland-security
https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/tv-shows/trump-reacts-jimmy-kimmel-markwayne-mullin-joke/
https://deadline.com/2026/03/trump-jimmy-kimmel-markwayne-mullin-1236767188/
https://www.foxnews.com/media/jimmy-kimmels-dig-plumber-dhs-secretary-markwayne-mullin-ripped-elite-online-critics
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-says-kristi-noem-stepping-homeland-security-secretary-rcna248719
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/23/g-s1-114813/markwayne-mullin-confirmed-homeland-security
