Kimmel Didn’t Insult Plumbers; He Insulted America’s Aspirational Spirit – RedState
As only television personality and host Mike Rowe can, he embodied what makes America great. The American Dream is about more than a certain achievement, like buying a house or getting promoted to a particular profession: it’s about the ability to dream big and aspire to higher things – or just different things.
Of course, Rowe’s incredibly insightful comment, which he posted on
If you haven’t heard, and even if you have, Jimmy Kimmel had this to say about Markwayne Mullin, former senator from Oklahoma and our new Secretary of Homeland Security:
“We now have a plumber who protects us from terrorism.”Apparently there was some backlash. The plumbers were… pic.twitter.com/R1hg9llY2e
– The Real Mike Rowe (@mikeroweworks) March 29, 2026
Rowe began:
If you haven’t heard, and even if you have, Jimmy Kimmel had this to say about Markwayne Mullin, former senator from Oklahoma and our new Secretary of Homeland Security:
“We now have a plumber who protects us from terrorism.”
Apparently there was some backlash. Plumbers were offended, obviously, as were parents of plumbers, spouses of plumbers, children of plumbers, and millions of people who saw a plumber show up when they needed one. Comedians were also offended (the funny ones, anyway) as were a surprising number of terrorists, particularly those who had access to hot and cold running water. However, despite the hubbub that followed, @jimmykimmel doubled down.
Yeah, Kimmel loves doing that, because he knows he’s bulletproof. Remember when people called for his job and two of his syndicators stopped carrying his show after he made those terrible comments about the Charlie Kirk assassination? All Kimmel did was send the Bat Signal, and his left-wing friends in Hollywood cried censorship. Kimmel made a half-baked fake excuse, then went back to business as usual: being a terrible comedian, but a great left-wing activist.
Here’s how Kimmel doubled down on his stupidity.
“I’m not upset that the head of Homeland Security is a plumber,” he said. “I’m upset he’s not a plumber anymore.” He clarified, adding: “I wouldn’t appoint a plumber in charge of homeland security for the same reason I wouldn’t call a five-star general to get a rat out of my toilet, OK?” We all have our areas of expertise. »
Learn more: Mullin takes helm of DHS as Trump swears in
THE ESSEX FILES: Why the ‘Plumber’ Line Says More About Elites Than Markwayne Mullin
Rowe makes an important point about this: being offended is always a choice, and from my perspective, we live in a time where people think that having thin skin is a badge of honor. Rowe is Gen X like me, so insults like this fall on our backs. But Rowe points out what he found offensive about Kimmel’s ignorant opinion.
But I’m a little hurt by the suggestion that skilled workers should never move into something new and that skill is somehow limited to a single vocation. Obviously, expertise and skills are important. If I need a new kidney, I would rather have the surgery done by a doctor than a late night talk show host. But if the doctor in question hosted a talk show, why would I blame him?
Exactly. Dr. Ben Carson was a brilliant brain surgeon, but he chose to stop doing that and enter the political space, running for president in 2016, becoming secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the first Trump administration, and now serving as a special advisor in this second Trump administration. So, is Dr. Carson less competent in any of these professions because of his choice to aspire to be something different?
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) won her seat in 2018 after working in fashion sales and retail, then founding her own marketing and event management company which she successfully ran for over 30 years. Blackburn is the first woman to be elected as a U.S. senator from Tennessee. It’s a huge aspiration, and she achieved it. After winning re-election in 2024, Blackburn decided she aspired to become governor of Tennessee, and if the wind holds, she just might achieve it. So, does Kimmel want to insult her for successfully moving from successful businesswoman to U.S. senator, and now potentially governor?
He really needs to go sit down.
Rowe made his point during the 2016 presidential debate, when Marco Rubio, then a senator and presidential candidate, responded to a debate question by saying that “America needs to bring shop classes back into high schools” and that “what our country needs is more welders and fewer philosophers.”
Rowe continued,
I don’t think the current shortage of welders has anything to do with a glut 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 is more welders who can speak intelligently about Aristotle, and more philosophers who can demonstrate equality. In other words, more generals who can fix their own toilets, and more plumbers who can hold an important position in government.
Amen to that. Rowe then laid out Mullin’s trajectory, something Democrats and the left always forget when they complain about his rise.
That’s what Mullin did. He was a private citizen who mastered an essential skill and then turned that skill into a multi-million dollar business that employed many people and served many customers. This gave him the freedom to do other things with his life, including a career in public service that took him to Congress, where he has spent the last eleven years doing everything that members of Congress do. He now holds a very important position in the cabinet of the current administration.
Boom. Rather, Mullin is the epitome of someone who aspires not only to become more, but also to be an agile and flexible person. As the saying goes: “Blessed are the flexible, for they will never be broken.” If Kimmel ultimately got fired from his job, he probably wouldn’t know how to pivot into something new or different. He’s a little man, and little people only see their own little elitist box.
Rowe brings it home beautifully. It’s not about a profession or skill in that profession: it’s about the American dream, a dream that you can continue to pursue until you take your last breath.
Isn’t that the embodiment of the American dream? I understand that Jimmy Kimmel might have a problem with Mullin’s politics, but what objection could he have regarding the trajectory of his career or his desire to do more than one thing in his life?
The only sensible thing to do after such a muted moment is to remind America that the skills gap is significant and ever-widening. The shortage of skilled workers is now making headlines and addressing it is nothing less than a matter of national security. This year, my foundation set aside $10 million to help train the next generation of plumbers and many other essential workers. I’m talking about hundreds of thousands of six-figure, AI-proof jobs that don’t require a four-year degree waiting to be filled. Money is currently available to anyone interested in mastering a useful skill at https://mikeroweworks.org. Apply today.
As for those of you genuinely offended by Kimmel’s comments, please consider expressing your disappointment by making a modest donation to mikeroweWORKS. Our work ethic scholarship makes a real difference and your money will be well spent, I promise. The Donate button is big and red and hard to miss, at https://mikeroweworks.org
Great way to promote the power of aspiration and how anyone chasing their dream can always use a little help.
This is what I love about being an American and pursuing my American dream. My maternal grandmother and grandfather were sharecroppers and decided to aspire to a better life. These aspirations led them to leave the fields to take the “best” jobs of the time for blacks in the South: a housekeeper and a hunter. They moved from Tyronza, Arkansas, to Memphis, Tennessee, and then to Chicago, Illinois, joining that Great Migration from the South to the North that many undertook at that time because they longed for something more. I am the product of this aspiration, and I always dream bigger and I always reach higher. Although the golden handcuffs of being a software and document specialist in law firms suit most people, I knew from a very young age that I wanted to become a writer, and through fits and starts and many detours, that’s what I’m doing today.
Always aspiring to go higher is what characterizes the American dream. People like Mike Rowe, DHS Secretary Mullin, and I get it. Poor souls like Jimmy Kimmel never will.
Editor’s Note: For decades, former presidents did nothing but talk. Now, Donald Trump eliminates the Iranian threat once and for all.
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