ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel was not a fan of Speaker Mike Johnson using a Thursday press conference to angrily remind everyone that the only reason why the government is shut down is because Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is terrified of his base and needs “to cover his tail.” According to Kimmel, Johnson’s true motivation is to cover up the Epstein Files.
Kimmel declared, “Mike Johnson, this, you know, the squeaker of the House, Mike Johnson, gave quite a performance today trying to pretend Democrats are the reason he shut down the House of Representatives for almost a month. Watch how hard he acts here. He gets all mad trying to pretend this has anything to do with anything other than the Epstein Files.”
In the clip, Johnson got uncharacteristically angry at Schumer and abruptly left the press conference:
To get everybody together and build that consensus is not possible until we get the government operating again and we stop holding—I'm sorry, I get very upset, we stop holding the American people hostage for these ridiculous political games. People see what's going on here. We should not have Border Patrol agents not paid right now because Chuck Schumer wants to play political games to cover his tail. I don’t know how more—much more simply to say that, and every single one of you know, that's exactly what's going on. I don't like being Mad Mike. I want to be Happy Mike. I want to be the happy warrior. But I'm so upset about this. God bless America. We're done. Thanks.
Two things need to be said. First, the question that Kimmel did not play had nothing to do with the Epstein Files. It was about whether Johnson would agree with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and give Democrats a vote on Obamacare subsidies in order to reopen the government. The beginning of Johnson’s answer, which Kimmel also did not play, featured him educating the reporter that Schumer rejected that offer because he wants a guaranteed outcome.
Second, it is clearly true that Schumer is trying to appease the far-left part of the Democratic base, including the late night comedians, who got mad at him for not shutting down the government earlier in the year.
As for the part of the answer he did play, Kimmel mocked Johnson’s reaction, “Someone didn’t have his Go-GURT this morning! He doesn't like being Mad Mike. He wants to be Happy Mike. He wants to be the happy warrior, but he can't because of us.”
Yes, Chuck Schumer and other Democrats are terrified of being primaried from the left, so they decided to shut down the government to save a temporary, COVID-era policy that allows basically anyone, including the very rich, to receive Obamacare subsidies.
Here is a transcript for the October 16 show:
ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!
10/16/2025
11:41 PM ET
JIMMY KIMMEL: Mike Johnson, this, you know, the squeaker of the House, Mike Johnson, gave quite a performance today trying to pretend Democrats are the reason he shut down the House of Representatives for almost a month. Watch how hard he acts here. He gets all mad trying to pretend this has anything to do with anything other than the Epstein Files.
MIKE JOHNSON: To get everybody together and build that consensus is not possible until we get the government operating again and we stop holding — I'm sorry, I get very upset, we stop holding the American people hostage for these ridiculous political games. People see what's going on here. We should not have Border Patrol agents not paid right now because Chuck Schumer wants to play political games to cover his tail. I don’t know how more— much more simply to say that, and every single one of you know, that's exactly what's going on. I don't like being Mad Mike. I want to be Happy Mike. I want to be the happy warrior. But I'm so upset about this. God bless America. We're done. Thanks.
KIMMEL: Someone didn’t have his Go-GURT this morning! He doesn't like being Mad Mike. He wants to be Happy Mike. He wants to be the happy warrior, but he can't because of us.
