Jimmy Kimmel Mocks Trump’s Promise to Help Russia Amid Siberia Plague: ‘The Gang Who Brought Polio Back’

Jimmy Kimmel took aim at Donald Trump after the president promised to send aid to Russia amid a plague outbreak in Siberia, joking that “the gang who brought polio back is on the case.” During Monday’s monologue for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” the comedian weighed in on the situation in Siberia, which saw a 28-year-old laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute die of severe pneumonia. Dozens more are currently in quarantine. “We took 200 members of our staff to Brooklyn. I am pleased to announce that only half of them came back with the flu,” Kimmel said. “Everyone is out sick. Everybody is sick today. Although, I guess we’re lucky to just have the flu.” He added: “You know, today the governor of New York declared a state disaster emergency because of a measles outbreak there. So now we’ve got the flu, we’ve got measles, we’ve got rabies, we’ve got West Nile virus, we have flea-born typhus, all on the rise. And now we are hearing that in Russia there has been at least one death from a suspected case of the plague, the pneumonic plague.” After mentioning that around 200 people are in quarantine, Kimmel said of the White House’s response: “The White House says they are monitoring the situation and assessing options to figure out if there is any way they can make money off of it.” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” editors then played footage of Trump answering questions about the supposed plague, with the president noting that “we’ll help them.” “Well, everybody, they’ll help [them],” Kimmel responded. “No worries. The gang who brought polio back is on the case.” “So, this outbreak, which is scary, is reported to have originated with a lab leak at the Anti-Plague Institute of Siberia,” he added. “Which sounds like the plot of one of those horror movies you can only get on Tubi.” Before moving on, Kimmel sarcastically noted that he felt “glad we have a president who is a doctor and also Jesus,” poking fun at Trump’s past AI-generated religious memes. For Kimmel’s full monologue, watch the video above. A representative for the White House did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment. “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC.