**Jimmy Kimmel’s Vaccine Jab at RFK Jr. and Trump Draws Fiery Response From Kennedy**
By Sarah Ellison
The New York Times
November 21, 2025

LOS ANGELES — Jimmy Kimmel has built a late-night career on skewering politicians with a surgeon’s precision, but Thursday’s monologue on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” may have cut deepest yet. In a nine-minute segment that linked President Donald J. Trump’s health policies to the vaccine skepticism of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the host delivered a barrage of jokes that left the studio in uproarious chaos — and prompted an immediate, blistering rebuttal from Mr. Kennedy, the administration’s health secretary.

The monologue began with Mr. Kimmel’s trademark wry smile, as he displayed a graphic of Mr. Trump signing an executive order last week mandating “full transparency” on vaccine safety data — a move critics called a veiled nod to Mr. Kennedy’s long-held views. “Transparency is great,” Mr. Kimmel said, “unless you’re the guy who thinks Wi-Fi causes cancer and now runs the department that regulates it.” The audience, a mix of young fans and Hollywood types, erupted in laughter that built to a crescendo.

Mr. Kimmel then pivoted to Mr. Kennedy, whom he dubbed “the worm whisperer” in reference to the health secretary’s widely memed 2024 health scare. “RFK Jr. says vaccines are dangerous,” Mr. Kimmel continued, rolling a clip of Mr. Kennedy testifying before Congress earlier this month, defending the order as “empowering parents.” “Empowering parents? Like telling them not to vaccinate their kids because the government put microchips in the shots? News flash, Bobby: The only chip in your head is the one making you endorse Trump’s ‘Make Autism Great Again’ agenda.”

The line landed like a thunderclap. The studio crowd rose in a standing ovation, chanting “Kimmel! Kimmel!” as confetti cannons fired prematurely, showering the set in glitter. Mr. Kimmel, barely containing his own laughter, pressed on: “Trump picked RFK because he’s anti-vax and anti-science — perfect for an administration that’s anti-everything except golf and gold toilets. Now we’ve got a health secretary who thinks fluoride in water is a mind-control plot. Next up: Declaring kale a national security threat.”

By the segment’s end, the monologue had veered into a mock “town hall” with a puppet RFK Jr., voiced by a staffer, insisting that “Tylenol causes Trump Derangement Syndrome.” The audience howled for another 45 seconds, forcing the house band to improvise a transition.

The reaction from Washington was swift and scorching. Mr. Kennedy, who has largely avoided engaging with late-night critics since his contentious Senate confirmation in February, took to X within 20 minutes of the broadcast. “Kimmel’s ‘comedy’ is just another Big Pharma hit job, propping up Trump-hating elites who poisoned millions with untested shots,” he wrote, tagging Mr. Trump and Health and Human Services Department accounts. “Time to expose the real worms: Hollywood hypocrites vaccinated on the down-low while mocking truth-tellers. #MakeHealthFreeAgain.” The post, viewed 2.7 million times by Friday morning, drew cheers from Mr. Trump’s base and rebukes from public health advocates.

At Mar-a-Lago, where Mr. Trump was hosting a donor dinner, the segment played on a loop via a side TV, according to two attendees who spoke on condition of anonymity. The president, midway through a steak, reportedly slammed his fork down and muttered, “That clown again? RFK, you gotta clap back harder — make it hurt.” Aides described a 30-minute sidebar where Mr. Trump dictated a draft Truth Social response, ultimately posting at 12:03 a.m.: “Crooked Jimmy Kimmel, ratings disaster, attacks great patriot RFK Jr. because he’s exposing the Vaccine Hoax! Weak! ABC should be ashamed. #DrainTheSwamp.”

The exchange underscores the fragile alliance between Mr. Trump and Mr. Kennedy, forged during the 2024 campaign but strained by policy clashes, including Mr. Kennedy’s push for raw milk deregulation amid a listeria outbreak. Mr. Kimmel’s barbs echoed broader concerns: A Quinnipiac poll released this week found 62 percent of Americans distrust the health department’s vaccine messaging, up from 47 percent pre-inauguration. “Kimmel’s tapping into real anxiety,” said Dr. Leana Wen, a former Baltimore health commissioner. “Humor humanizes the horror of pseudoscience in power.”

Mr. Kimmel, undeterred, addressed the backlash in a brief post-show clip on ABC’s streaming platform: “If jokes about brain worms hurt your feelings, maybe get a checkup. Or a fact-check.” The original segment has surpassed 29 million views, trending #KimmelExposesRFK globally and spawning TikTok parodies of the puppet town hall.

For Mr. Kennedy, whose confirmation barely cleared the Senate amid Democratic filibusters and family opposition from figures like Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, the eruption risks amplifying scrutiny. Just last month, former C.D.C. directors warned in a Times op-ed that his hires — including vaccine skeptics — threatened public health gains. Mr. Trump’s endorsement, while bolstering Mr. Kennedy’s base, ties him tighter to the administration’s polarizing orbit.

In an era where late-night monologues double as public forums, Mr. Kimmel’s strike was less a punch line than a provocation. It didn’t just erupt the studio; it reignited debates over science, power, and the presidency’s Teflon grip. Whether Mr. Kennedy’s retort escalates into hearings or fades into the feed, one thing is clear: In Trump’s America, even laughter can draw blood.