Jimmy Kimmel isn’t letting up on Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and his plan to repeal Obamacare.
On Thursday, the late-night host gave his third monologue in three nights attacking the Louisiana senator, who’d appeared on his show months earlier and promised that any bill he’d support would have to protect people with preexisting conditions (including Kimmel’s son, who was born prematurely and required significant medical care).
Kimmel specifically took aim at a critique that has circulated through conservative media: that he should stay out of the debate because he isn’t a health care expert.
“A lot of people have been saying I’m not qualified to talk about this,” Kimmel said. “And that is true, I’m not qualified to talk about this. I think those people forget that Bill Cassidy named this test after me. Am I supposed to just be quiet about that?”
Just this week, Kimmel has given two previous monologues attacking the Graham-Cassidy health care bill, which Senate Republicans are championing as a last-chance effort to repeal Obamacare. The bill would cut billions of dollars from federal health care spending, especially disadvantaging states that have openly embraced Obamacare.
Kimmel argued on Thursday that while he isn’t an expert, there are lots of expert groups that have come out to oppose the Graham-Cassidy bill. Major patient groups, insurance plans, and all 50 state Medicaid directors have voiced opposition to the bill over the past week.
“His supporters say, well he’s a doctor and you’re not, what do you know,” Kimmel said. “To them I say, all of these very reputable organizations — American Diabetes Association, American Medical Association, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, the list goes on and on — all of these groups populated by doctors say this health care bill is bad. They’re against it.”
Kimmel went on: “I should not be the guy you go to for information on health care. But if these guys would tell the truth for a change I wouldn’t have to. I see these comments from these angry people that say, ‘What qualifies you to talk about this stuff? You’re a comedian, go back to not being funny.’ I feel like it’s my duty to remind these people who are so concerned about my job qualifications, the guy you voted for for president, his main qualification was this.”
Kimmel then played an old clip of The Apprentice, in which Donald Trump fired Meatloaf on the primetime show. And he ended his own show with another encouragement to his viewers to call their senators in opposition to the Graham-Cassidy bill.
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