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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Entertainment
Guardian staff

Jimmy Kimmel on Ted Cruz: ‘What a slug of a human being’

‘Another day of grandstanding, speech-making and hissy-fitting’ … Jimmy Kimmel.
Jimmy Kimmel: ‘Another day of grandstanding, speech-making and hissy-fitting.’ Photograph: YouTube

Jimmy Kimmel

On Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host spoke about “another day of grandstanding, speech-making and hissy-fitting” as supreme court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings continued.

He said that 58% of Americans support her, “the most support a Jackson has had since Thriller came out”. But Republicans have continued to find ways to attack her, led by Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham.

He referred to them as “a three-ring circle jerk this week desperately trying to get a soundbite that might make it on to Fox News”.

Jackson was asked to define what a woman is by Marsha Blackburn, someone Kimmel easily defined as “a horrible woman”. The judge said she wasn’t able to answer, which led to Cruz claiming she is the first ever nominee to struggle with the question. “She’s also the only one in history who’s been asked that disgusting question,” Kimmel said.

Cruz continued down his transphobic route by claiming he could self-define as a woman if he wanted, which Kimmel said would make him “the world’s ugliest woman”.

He went on to say “what a slug of a human being” while expressing sympathy for “this poor lady [who] had to sit there and listen to this pontificating”.

This week has also seen Hilary Clinton reveal that she has Covid-19, which Kimmel said was “surprising for someone who’s been alone in the woods for six whole years”.

While she had a positive test, her husband, Bill Clinton, remains negative. “That’s how deep we are in the upside-down world, Hilary caught a virus and Bill didn’t,” he joked.

Joe Biden has also been travelling to Brussels this week, which led Kimmel to quip: “When Biden was a kid, Air Force One was a balloon.” He expressed nervousness over him flying, “the same feeling you get when your grandma renews her driver’s license”.

The president was heading there to figure out a new round of sanctions against Russia but Kimmel wondered what else was left. “No more Frosted Mini-Wheats?” he asked.

More information also came out about what happened to Mike Pence during the Capital riot in January. The former vice-president was reportedly taken to a loading dock beneath the building so he could be put into hiding. “It was tough to convince Pence to go along with the plan because any discussion of going through the back door makes him uncomfortable,” Kimmel joked.

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