President Donald Trump erupted in a heated confrontation with late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Thursday, March 26, 2026, phoning into Fox News’ “The Five” to call for the comedian’s dismissal after Kimmel mocked the president’s newly confirmed Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary.
The 79-year-old’s anger was prompted by Kimmel’s monologue ridiculing Markwayne Mullin, the 48-year-old former Oklahoma senator who was confirmed on March 23 to replace Kristi Noem, whom Trump removed as the 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 March 26 phone call. “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 devoted several minutes of his March 25 opening to Mullin after the White House swearing-in, noting the new secretary’s past jobs as a plumber and an MMA fighter. The comic likened Mullin to Super Mario, joking that the country now has “a plumber protecting us from terrorism.” He also 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 head actually has a more notable fighting background than Kimmel implied. Official records show Mullin had an undefeated professional MMA record before entering politics, though sources differ on whether it was 5-0 or 3-0. Trump pushed back on the “low-level” portrayal during his “The Five” appearance, saying Mullin “had a very good record in fighting” and his opponents were “rough cookies.”
The dispute followed weeks after Trump announced Noem’s firing on Truth Social on March 5. Noem had faced two damaging congressional hearings in the Senate and House that week, including explosive testimony about a $200 million ad campaign that prominently featured her—including footage of the secretary on horseback at Mount Rushmore. Trump later denied approving the expensive campaign. “I never knew anything about it,” he told Reuters.
Trump moved Noem to a newly created role as Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, calling it “our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere.” Kimmel mocked the position, telling viewers he wished Noem luck in her “brand new, completely made-up job.”
The late-night host didn’t relent when Trump and conservative lawmakers accused him of insulting blue-collar workers. Texas Senator Ted Cruz posted that he prefers “plumbers to woke & unfunny comedians,” while Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis said Kimmel showed “disdain for working class Americans.”
Georgia Representative Mike Collins joined the criticism, writing that “the elites too often look down their noses at blue collar, middle America” and arguing that labeling a senator a plumber “doesn’t do him justice,” noting Mullin built a business that provides jobs for many families.
Kimmel addressed the backlash on his Thursday show, asserting that critics had twisted his remarks to suggest he was insulting 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 clarified his point: “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 selection during the Fox News call, praising Mullin’s experience running his family’s plumbing business and calling him “country smart.” The president said Mullin would “do a fantastic job” and claimed “everybody loves him.”
Before entering politics, Mullin took over his father’s struggling plumbing company at age 20 after his father fell ill. Over nearly three decades, he and his wife Christie expanded Mullin Plumbing into the region’s largest service company. He spent ten years in the House and three in the Senate before Trump nominated him for DHS. 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 lone GOP vote against the nomination, questioning whether a man with what he called “anger issues” should head an agency dealing with use-of-force controversies.
The spat marks the latest clash between Trump and Kimmel, with the comedian continuing to be one of the president’s most frequent late-night critics.
A spokesperson for DHS pushed back on the mockery in 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 exchange continues, neither Trump nor Kimmel shows signs of backing down from their ongoing feud, which has dominated headlines and social media this week.
