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Jimmy Kimmel roasts Aaron Rodgers over RFK Jr potential VP pick: ‘How many losing teams can he be a part of?’

Jimmy Kimmel weighed in after it emerged that RFK Jr’s running mate wishlist consists of Aaron Rodgers and Jesse Ventura

Amelia Neath
Thursday 14 March 2024 10:06 GMT
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Jimmy Kimmel roasts Aaron Rodgers over RFK Jr pick for running mate

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Jimmy Kimmel weighed in on “the noted anti-vax conspiracy theorist with a famous last name” Robert F Kennedy Jr’s running mate wishlist during the opening monologue of his show on Wednesday night.

This week, the New York Times reported that Mr Kennedy’s vice presidential pick shortlist consists of New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota governor and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura – two men, who like the presidential candidate, have a penchant for conspiracy theories.

On his late-night show on Wednesday, Mr Kimmel destroyed the candidates.

“He’s also considering a pair of truck nuts dipped in Ivermectin,” he joked.

Aaron Rodgers and Jesse Ventura are not running mates,” he continued. “They are who the bookers on The Masked Singer call when Rob Schneider says no.”

He added: “Aaron Rodgers is still playing football. He’s still playing for the Jets. How many losing teams can he be a part of at once?”

This isn’t the first time Mr Kimmel and Mr Rodgers have had a war of words.

Mr Kimmel got into a spat with Mr Rodgers in January after the NFL star implied that the show host’s name would appear among the so-called “Epstein list” released.

A trove of newly-published legal documents from a defamation lawsuit brought against Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell were unsealed, featuring more than 100 names.

Among the names were victims, friends and associates of Epstein and Maxwell as well as some individuals with no direct link at all. Mr Kimmel’s name was not mentioned in the documents and there is no indication he is connected to Epstein or Maxwell in any way.

Aaron Rodgers, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and Jesse Ventura
Aaron Rodgers, Robert F Kennedy Jr, and Jesse Ventura (Getty)

After that baseless suggestion, Mr Kimmel branded Mr Rodgers a “hamster brain man” with a “Thanksgiving Day parade-sized ego” who “thinks he knows what the government is up to because he’s a quarterback doing research on YouTube and listening to podcasts”.

In Wednesday’s show, Mr Kimmel also touched on the news that the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban TikTok in the United States if the Chinese parent company ByteDance does not sell it.

“There is a disaster looming, a potentially earth-shattering event,” he said. “[It] Could have a devastating impact on tens of millions of Americans, especially young Americans.

“And I’m not talking about climate change, or AI, or diarrhoea on planes,” he added.

The bill passed with an overwhelming bipartisan majority, which Mr Kimmel found hilarious, given bipartisanship fell apart when trying to pass a recent bill on the US-Mexico border.

“Who would have guessed that this would be the thing that brings both sides together?” he said.

Jimmy Kimmel poked fun at Aaron Rodgers after it emerged he is on the shortlist to become Robert F Kennedy Jr’s running mate
Jimmy Kimmel poked fun at Aaron Rodgers after it emerged he is on the shortlist to become Robert F Kennedy Jr’s running mate (Jimmy Kimmel Live)

“I mean, Republicans voted against their own border bill because they’re afraid it would make Joe Biden look good,” he continued. “They can’t even get it together to stand up to Vladimir Putin, but by God, they will stand up to Charlie D’Amelio and then some.”

Mr Kimmel went on to discuss what taking away TikTok would mean for people in the United States.

“For teenagers, losing TikTok is a bigger deal than losing your virginity. I’m not kidding, either. This is like taking away all their imaginary friends at once,” he said.

The bill will now need to pass the Senate before President Joe Biden could sign it into law.

“So now, the bill goes to the Senate, which means the fate of every tweenaged TikToker is in the hands of a bunch of old white people with Hotmail accounts,” Mr Kimmel joked.

“This is like iPhone Footloose, and there’s no Kevin Bacon to save us.”

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