‘Incredibly stupid’: Jimmy Kimmel dismisses Marco Rubio’s excuse for skipping State of the Union

‘He is very on-brand’, Kimmel said of the Florida senator

Jimmy Kimmel has shared his opinion on Marco Rubio not attending the State of the Union address, calling the senator’s excuse “incredibly stupid”.

On Tuesday’s (1 March) edition of his late-night talk show, Kimmel commented on US president Joe Biden’s second SOTU address to take place since he was elected.

In his opening monologue, the comedian and presenter compared the stability of the US political landscape to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s union: “It’s not.”

Kimmel then went on to note that there were some significant absences from the important address.

“Not every lawmaker showed up to watch the speech, which is not the usual,” he said.

Rubio is one figure in particular who didn’t turn up, as he apparently didn’t want to take the required Covid test in order to enter the meeting.

The lawmaker said earlier in the day that he didn’t have time to take the test, stating: “I only take a test if I’m sick.”

“Which, since you can have and spread Covid without any symptoms, is an incredibly stupid thing to say,” Kimmel said of this behaviour.

“But, in fairness, that is what Marco Rubio does. He is very on-brand.”

Jimmy Kimmel on the 2022 State of the Union address

The host went on to joke about a potential added reason for Rubio’s hesitance to get tested.

“You know why he won’t take it?” Kimmel asked the audience. “Because if they swab his nose, it would probably test positive for Donald Trump’s butt.”

Rubio was a close ally of the former Republican president during his time in office.