Jimmy Kimmel — fresh off a win at the Critics’ Choice Awards — did the best he could to remind Americans how to laugh in the immediate aftermath of the tragic events in Minneapolis following the killing of Renee Nicole Good. Kimmel delivered pointed, biting critiques of just about every prominent member of the Donald Trump administration.
Despite footage from different angles showing a masked ICE agent shooting at Good three times as she tried to turn away, there is still a heated debate over whether the shooting was justified. Trump gave his administration marching orders when he declared that Good was a “radical left lunatic” who tried to run over an ICE agent in an act of “domestic terrorism.” Experts, however, see the situation differently.
For instance, the agent fired three shots toward Good, but only one went through the windshield. The other two went through the driver’s side window, which weakens the case that the ICE agent genuinely believed he was being run over. Another aspect of the case is that federal agents reportedly blocked paramedic access to Good, which would also undermine a self-defense argument.
Regardless, Vice President J.D. Vance went on to announce that the ICE agent has “full immunity.” He did not explain how, or even whether the agent could still be prosecuted. It is entirely plausible that Trump could pardon him if the agent gets convicted when he is in office. Kimmel took time to peel back the layers of these Trump appointees one by one, questioning how the nation devolved from a shared acceptance of facts to a reality where each group operates with its own “alternative facts.”
Who can forget when Kimmel said, “We hit some new lows over the weekend, with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it.” That comment struck such a deep nerve within the Trump administration that they tried everything they could to end his career. Yet their response to Good’s killing only reinforces Kimmel’s point about their tendency to politicize deaths.
This time, however, Kimmel didn’t spend much time on Trump himself. His focus shifted to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Miller has been embroiled in numerous controversies during Trump’s second term. Who can forget when he pushed for suspending the requirement that authorities prove they had lawful grounds for an arrest — better known as habeas corpus? It turns out his disregard for others did not start recently.
Kimmel managed to unearth an old video of Miller campaigning for school president while in high school. Miller’s central campaign promise was that he would fight for students’ rights to litter willfully on school grounds, arguing that janitors were paid to clean up after them. Unsurprisingly, he was booed off the stage. But he has since found a home within a Trump administration filled with like-minded individuals.
Kimmel may be joking, but this is a glimpse into how these people wield power. And there is always truth in jest.
