For some unknown reason, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel welcomed former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to his Wednesday show to discuss the political world’s recent developments, including on health care. True to form, Kimmel could not resist calling GOP efforts “inhumane” despite not actually describing what those efforts entail. Additionally, during his earlier monologue, Kimmel lamented that Paramount is trying to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, which includes CNN, and led him to claim all “we’ll have left” after such a purchase would be “Rachel Maddow and Reading Rainbow.”
In the Buttigieg interview, Kimmel lamented that the Biden-era Obamacare subsidies are set to expire and attacked Republicans, “I mean, besides it being hurtful and damaging and inhumane and all of those things, isn't it just dumb? I mean, aren't people going to be very angry when they realize they're paying another $1,200 a month for health insurance?”
It is ironic that Senate Republicans unveiled their new plan on Tuesday and Kimmel pretended that never happened. However, Kimmel brings on guests to parrot his own ideas, and Buttigieg obliged, “I would think so. Yeah, and look, that's one of the reasons why you see right now some Republicans, not a lot, but some Republicans starting to do something remarkable, which is defying this president. You're seeing it with people I never thought you would see this from.”
Like his host, Buttigieg then displayed a strange new respect for Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and others, “Marjorie Taylor Greene, you know, Nancy Mace criticizing Republican leadership. In Indiana, the statehouse there, very Republican state, Republican supermajority, the president of the United States personally begging them to redo the districts and, up until now at least, doesn't have the votes.”
Earlier in the show, Kimmel played a clip of Trump telling CNN reporter Kristen Holmes that her network is “basically an arm of the Democratic Party.” Kimmel lamented, “Okay. So that happened today. But if the Ellisons get their way, it might not happen again. [Paramount Skydance CEO] David Ellison has reportedly promised Trump sweeping changes at CNN if he gets it and Netflix doesn't, which is bad news for news.
Kimmel then rattled off several changes to CNN programming that he claimed Ellison would bring to make the network more Trump-friendly, “Some of the hosts, they’re saying Dana Bash would be replaced by Dana White. The Source with Kaitlan Collins will become The Source with Caitlyn Jenner. The Lead with Jake Tapper will be The Lead with Jake Paul. Erin Burnett, they’re going to swap out for Aaron Rodgers, and Wolf Blitzer is out of the room, and The Situation is in.”
He then went into full freak-out mode, “So, it's disturbing. It's disturbing. And right now Netflix is like, what if we promised to make Queer Eye less gay? Would that if we change queer to beer, would that help? Does the right not have enough news networks? I mean, look at this. This is if they take CNN, all we'll have left is Rachel Maddow and Reading Rainbow.”
Not only is Kimmel omitting his own employer, but he can’t even credibly argue that Ellison has turned CBS into a right-wing network. It is just another example of the idea that for the left, nothing other than 100 percent constant opposition to Trump is good enough.
Here is a transcript for the December 10 show:
ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!
12/10/2025
11:46 PM ET
JIMMY KIMMEL: Okay. So that happened today. But if the Ellisons get their way, it might not happen again. David Ellison has reportedly promised Trump sweeping changes at CNN if he gets it and Netflix doesn't, which is bad news for news. There are already rumors flying about some of the shows that he wants to change. Some of the hosts, they’re saying Dana Bash would be replaced by Dana White. The Source with Kaitlan Collins will become The Source with Caitlyn Jenner. The Lead with Jake Tapper will be The Lead with Jake Paul. Erin Burnett, they’re going to swap out for Aaron Rodgers, and Wolf Blitzer is out of the room, and The Situation is in. So, it's disturbing. It's disturbing. And right now Netflix is like, what if we promised to make Queer Eye less gay? Would that if we change queer to beer, would that help? Does the right not have enough news networks? I mean, look at this. This is if they take CNN, all we'll have left is Rachel Maddow and Reading Rainbow.
…
12/11/2025
12:27 AM ET
JIMMY KIMMEL: I mean, besides it being hurtful and damaging and inhumane and all of those things, isn't it just dumb? I mean, aren't people going to be very angry when they realize they're paying another $1,200 a month for health insurance?
PETE BUTTIGIEG: I would think so. Yeah, and look, that's one of the reasons why you see right now some Republicans, not a lot, but some Republicans starting to do something remarkable, which is defying this president. You're seeing it with people I never thought you would see this from. Marjorie Taylor Greene, you know, Nancy Mace criticizing Republican leadership. In Indiana, the statehouse there, very Republican state, Republican supermajority, the president of the United States personally begging them to redo the districts and, up until now at least, doesn't have the votes, and I think that's really telling because I think in the same way that before taking over this country he took over his party, I think the way that his power is starting to collapse will be first within his party and then more broadly in the country. But here's the thing, these Republicans are doing something that many in my party are still struggling to do, which is actually to imagine what happens next.
They're doing this because they're thinking ahead and they are aware of something that we know, as a fact, is true but we have trouble picturing, which is that a day will come when Donald Trump is no longer active in American politics and we had better be ready for that day.
