Jimmy Kimmel takes aim at Trump’s new press secretary

Published: 16:38 EDT, 14 October 2026 | Updated: 16:38 EDT, 14 October 2026

Jimmy Kimmel is being accused of engaging in a double standard after casting doubt on the new White House press secretary’s qualifications while showing a photograph of her at the gym on-air.

The Media Research Center’s (MRC) Alex Christy made the claim in an opinion piece Tuesday, pointing to a portion of the host’s Monday monologue and the flak comedian Shane Gillis is facing for a similar crack about women’s workout attire while hosting SNL.

Christy, part of the conservative watchdog’s ‘Newsbusters’ outfit, penned an X post calling out Kimmel as well, accusing him of hypocrisy.

Kimmel began the bit about former Newsmax host Katie Zacharia by jokingly claiming a fictional man who graduated from Harvard and received a Master’s from Columbia got the job.

‘He’s known for his fair and thoughtful – oh, wait. I’m just kidding. This is the new press secretary,’ Kimmel segued.

A photo of Zacharia, 42, taking a mirror selfie in December 2024 filled viewers’ screens.

‘Former Newsmax commentator Katie Zacharia, seen here thinking,’ Kimmel quipped. Another photo of Zacharia with Donald Trump at a Turning Point USA event from December of last year soon followed.

Both were flashing ‘thumbs-up’ signs, leading Kimmel to riff: ‘Katie met a number of qualifications for this job: She has blonde hair, she can do a thumbs up and… end of list, really.’

Christy, a news analyst who specializes in late-night comedy and cable news, pointed out how the reaction to Gillis’s joke since Saturday has been ‘swift and harsh.’

Gillis joked a little more than two minutes into his SNL return over the weekend: ‘I haven’t been to the gym in so long I didn’t know women just dress like [expletive] now?’

Kimmel’s comments, in contrast, slipped under the radar, he said, claiming ‘Kimmel put up a picture of Zacharia in a sports bra and leggings while taking a selfie at the gym and used it to suggest she’s dumb.’

‘Once upon a time, Kimmel’s writer/producer/wife, Molly McNearney, lamented, “People were still making pantsuit jokes. I was like, ‘What the [expletive] are you doing? You’re minimizing [Hillary Clinton] to her clothes?’ We’d never talk about a man’s outfit,”‘ the op-ed continued.

Christy ultimately argued that even if ‘one thinks Gillis was taking a fair point about influencer culture run amok or that he stepped over the line, it is hard to avoid the fact that Kimmel essentially told the same joke about one specific woman.’

‘Yet, the political movement that considers itself to be the party of women and Kimmel to be a free speech warrior who speaks truth to power cannot be bothered when the woman is on the opposite side of the aisle.’

Newsbusters is a team ‘dedicated to exposing & combating liberal media bias,’ according to its website, and was launched in 2005.

Kimmel sarcastically framed Zacharia as a fitting pick for Trump during his monologue as well, citing perceived similarities between her and her two most recent predecessors, Karoline Leavitt and Kayleigh McEnany.

‘What else do you need? Where do they all get that same face? Is that makeup or do they have a machine that stamps it on?’

He went on to criticize Zacharia and her first performance on the podium.

‘It was the first day of kindergarten for the new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia,’ Kimmel segued. ‘You know, Trump’s been president for quite a long time now. I think it’s been about, what, 50 or 60 years?

‘And in order to keep him awake and interested every six months they bring in a new fawning blonde dolt to add to the rotation.’

The rant continued, ‘Things did not get off to a great start for Malibu Katie today. Her first briefing was brief. It was only 14 minutes long, but even in that short time she accomplished exactly what she was brought in to do, which is slobber a whole tube of lip gloss all over the president’s behind.’

Producers then played a clip of Zacharia confessing that she had wanted to work for Trump for years.

‘She wanted to work for him for a very long time,’ Kimmel said. ‘And really that’s all it takes nowadays. All it takes is that and dressing like you’re about to announce pre-boarding on a Delta Airlines flight.’

Zacharia donned a navy skirt suit with gold buttons and a white blouse for the appearance.

The Media Research Center is a conservative watchdog group started in 1987.

Christy’s X post has received nearly 500,000 views in a matter of hours.

The Daily Mail has approached the White House and ABC for comment.