Jimmy Kimmel made a strong comeback on Live Monday evening after taking a break from the show. He addressed President Trump’s tariffs that heavily impacted the market and the widespread measles outbreak affecting children nationwide.
As the late night host put it on the show: “Stocks are down, measles are up.”
Kimmel attributed the measles outbreak to Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who had recently shifted his position on vaccines amidst the escalating number of measles cases in the U.S.
In a humorous tone, Kimmel quipped about the consequences of appointing a vaccine skeptic as the Health Secretary and dismissing the experts responsible for monitoring infectious diseases.
He then pointed to the recent death of an eight-year-old girl in Texas who died from measles pulmonary failure, marking the second death of the year. According to reports, she had no underlying health conditions. Kennedy even made an appearance at her funeral service, but that wasn’t enough to impress Kimmel.
“Another child died of measles in Texas which is especially awful because that doesn’t have to happen,” Kimmel lamented. “We have a way to prevent this from happening.”
He continued, “RFK Jr actually took a break from working on his pecs to go to the funeral service, to say what, I don’t know. Oops? But we seem to be pedaling backwards in every area of American life.”
Kennedy has since advocated in favor of the vaccine as the number of cases continue to climb.
“The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine,” he said in a post on X. He reported that there are “642 confirmed cases of measles across 22 states, 499 of those in Texas.”
Kennedy vowed to continue working with Texas Governot Abbott to offer resources through the CDC to ease the spread of measles.
Jimmy Kimmel Live airs weeknights at 11:35/10:35c on ABC.
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