'I'm not a serious person?': Jimmy Kimmel escalates his war against the Republican healthcare bill
For the second night in a row, the late-night host attacked the authors of the Graham-Cassidy bill and implored viewers to oppose the measure.
Kimmel said one of the plan's authors - Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy - lied to him about protecting preexisting conditions in any plan he supported during his monologue on Tuesday night.
Cassidy told Kimmel in May after his emotional monologue about his newborn son's open-heart surgeries that he wouldn't support any bill that would allow insurers to charge people with preexisting conditions more, dubbing it the "Jimmy Kimmel test."
But healthcare policy experts have said that the Graham-Cassidy bill would allow states to apply for waivers that could lead to insurers charging people with preexisting conditions more for coverage.
After Kimmel called Cassidy a liar for violating the "Kimmel test" Tuesday, the senator said on CNN that the host "does not understand."
"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't understand because I'm a talk show host, right?" Kimmel said Wednesday night. He proceeded to attack the bill's proposed federal healthcare funding cuts and pointed to multiple physician, medical, and hospital groups that have come out against the legislation.
"Which part of that am I not understanding? Or could it be, Sen. Cassidy, that the problem is that I do understand and you got caught with your G-O-Penis out? Is that possible?" Kimmel said.
Kimmel also said it was the "worst bill yet" and claimed Cassidy went back on his word.
The late-night host did not stop there, also going after others that either told Kimmel to stay out of it or suggested he didn't understand the debate. Here's a rundown of his targets:
- Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade: "The reason I found this comment to be particularly annoying is this is a guy, Brian Kilmeade, whenever I see him, kisses my ass like a little boy meeting Batman."
- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: Christie, who is opposed to the bill, said Kimmel is "not a serious person" during an appearance on MSNBC. "I'm not a serious person? I never got my head stuck in a bucket of fried chicken!" Kimmel said.
- Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of the bill's authors: Graham said Kimmel's comments on Tuesday were "garbage." "I'm not going to attack Lindsey Graham for two reasons," Kimmel said. "No. 1, he's one of the few good Republicans. No. 2, Lindsey Graham happens to look a lot like my grandma Jane who is now deceased."
- President Donald Trump: "There's no way President Trump read this bill that he says is great, he just wants to get rid of it because Obama's name is on it. The Democrats should just rename it Ivankacare and he'd get on board. Can you imagine Donald Trump actually sitting down to read a healthcare bill? It's like trying to imagine a dog doing your taxes."
Watch the full monologue: