Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel says he’s not worried about losing conservative viewers after his emotional, political monologues on health care and gun control.
“Three years ago, I was equally liked by Republicans and Democrats,” Kimmel told CBS Sunday Morning. “And then Republican numbers went way down, like 30%, or whatever. And you know, as a talk show host, that’s not ideal but I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Since last year, Kimmel has felt free to discuss his political views as part of his show’s opening monologues, delivering emotional pleas to Republican legislators seeking to replace the Affordable Care Act with a more workable health care law, and calling for stricter gun control laws in order to prevent mass shootings.
But Kimmel’s impassioned diatribes aren’t always well-constructed. In fact, much of his research comes directly from Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office, and Kimmel’s monologues are filled with inaccuracies and misconceptions (and in the case of health care, rife with obvious disconnect between Kimmel’s privileged world and the law’s effect for middle- and working-class Americans).
Those inaccuracies have led conservative commentators, including The Daily Wire‘s Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro, to take issue with Kimmel’s moral preening and his supposed expertise — and they’ve led Republican viewers to seek out other late night entertainment options.
Kimmel, of course, claims he’s never assumed the title of “moral arbiter,” and that he’s simply a comedian with a platform doing his job.
“I’m not … I’m nobody’s moral arbiter,” Kimmel said. “You don’t have to watch the show. You don’t have to listen to what I say.”
As for the conservatives tuning out, well, Kimmel claims he’d prefer everyone with a television watch his show, but, if you disagree with his political opinions, he probably doesn’t like you anyway, so feel free to flip the channel.
“If they’re so turned off by my opinion on health care and gun violence then, I don’t know, I probably wouldn’t want to have a conversation with them anyway,” he told CBS. “Not good riddance, but riddance.”
Winning hearts and minds.