Jimmy Kimmel Mocks Trump Over White House Response to 'Scary' Russian Plague Lab Accident
Jimmy Kimmel reacted to Trump's offer to help Russia with the suspected plague outbreak in Siberia.
Oct. 6 2026, Published 4:00 p.m. ET
Jimmy Kimmel has mocked Donald Trump over his offer to help Russia with the suspected plague outbreak in Siberia, RadarOnline.com can report.
The comedian called out the president on the Monday, October 5, episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, as Kimmel joked about his own staff falling ill.
Jimmy Kimmel Jokes About Suspected Plague Outbreak
Kimmel teased Trump for his response to the suspected plague outbreak in Russia.
"We took 200 members of our staff to Brooklyn. I am pleased to announce that only half of them came back with the flu," he quipped. "Everyone is out sick. Everybody is sick today. Although I guess we're lucky to just have the flu.”
The 58-year-old went on, "You know, today the governor of New York declared a state disaster emergency because of a measles outbreak there. So now we got the flu, we got measles, we got rabies, we got West Nile virus, we have flea-borne 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," he noted.
Kimmel joked that the White House is "monitoring the situation and assessing options to figure out if there is any way they can make money off of it."
Donald Trump Offers to Help Russia
Trump recently said the U.S. is 'willing to help' Russia with the suspected plague outbreak.
He then played a clip of Trump offering to help Russia with the situation earlier this week.
"The germs have really become relatively stronger than they were, and things that used to work on pneumonia don't work as well anymore," the president told reporters. "Anybody that has that kind of a problem, we're always willing to help."
Jimmy Kimmel Likens Suspected Plague Outbreak to Tubi Plot
Kimmel says the suspected plague outbreak in Siberia sounds like the plot of a Tubi horror film.
"Well, everybody, they'll help,” 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. Which sounds like the plot of one of those horror movies you can only get on Tubi," he also pointed out.
“And I’ll say, in times like these I'm just glad we have a president who is a doctor and also Jesus. And a president who has the courage to call AI what it really is – SI," Kimmel concluded.
HHS Says Suspected Plague Outbreak Poses No Threat to U.S.
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According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the suspected plague outbreak in Siberia doesn't pose a threat to the U.S. for the time being.
As for the suspected plague outbreak itself, the Department of Health and Human Services claims it doesn't pose a threat to the U.S. for the time being.
"While the circumstances of this reported case remain unconfirmed, plague is a serious bacterial disease that is treatable with antibiotics, particularly when recognized and treated early," a spokesperson confirmed in a recent statement.
They added, "At this time, there is no indication from available reporting of a broader threat to the United States."
