Jimmy Kimmel is humanizing federal employees with stunt putting them to work during shutdown

Slate

For the past two weeks, Kimmel has invited federal employees each night to do odd jobs. They've included a TSA agent, a U.S. Forest Service firefighter, a USDA safety inspector, an air traffic controller, a NASA engineer and a prison guard. "This isn’t just Kimmel goofing around," says Marissa Martinelli. "With each guest, he makes a pointed statement about how essential their role is for the country to function." There's another advantage to Kimmel's stunt: "It humanizes the people who are impacted by the shutdown, hundreds of thousands of whom are now working without a paycheck," says Martinelli, adding: "Whether Trump is watching or not, Kimmel is hitting him where it hurts: his so-called populist appeal. The shutdown is already costing Trump the support of his strongest supporters, white Americans without college degrees, and Kimmel is taking advantage by deploying his own everyman persona, using common sense, basic compassion, and a let’s-grab-a-beer ease to transcend political ideology, as he’s done in the past with health care." ALSO: Stephen Colbert is selling mugs to benefit furloughed government workers.