In what can only be considered an old bit, ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel used a political news story to take an unnecessary shot at the plumbing industry.

"Trump's got a whole new generation of thinkers lined up, including his newly confirmed secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne ‘Chuck Mike Bruce Dave’ Melon — Mullin. Maybe melon's better," Kimmel said. "He's the now former senator of Oklahoma. Before he was elected to the Senate, Markwayne Mullin was a low-level MMA fighter and a plumber. That's right. We have a plumber protecting us from terrorism now. It worked for Super Mario. Why not Markwayne?"

He continued, "But honestly — I mean, if Trump is going to keep picking these unqualified people to run the department, why not have more fun with it? I mean, next time instead of Markwayne, how about Lil Wayne for Homeland Security? At least we can get a concert out of it, right?"

Some might respond that this is only a joke. As someone who enjoys a good joke, I might be inclined to agree, but let’s look at the entire board here. Do we think for a moment that if the new secretary of Homeland Security was a former lawyer, doctor or tech giant that we would be getting that same joke?

Of course not. Because it is low hanging fruit to make fun of the trades. Folks outside the industry can give lip service to how important plumbing, HVAC, and electrical are to our society. But, at the end of the day, a lot of them truly do not have respect for what you do.

Long before he ran for Congress, Mullin grew up in a working-class family where his father ran a small plumbing business. Mullin would eventually take over the family business, Mullin Plumbing, after his father fell ill. Under his leadership, it expanded significantly, becoming one of the largest service companies in the region. Part of this expansion included branching into HVAC services through Mullin Services Inc., which handled residential and commercial.  

By the time he entered politics in 2012 with his election to the House of Representatives, his home service firm had substantially grown, and it was reportedly sold to a private equity firm in 2021 for an undisclosed sum.  

That is who we are making fun of and calling unqualified.

How hard is it for contractors to find employees? Almost every contractor I talk to has more work than employees who can perform that work. You can certainly draw a straight line between what was said on TV and the lack of qualified folks applying for jobs in the trades. 

That comments like this are made should come as no surprise to anyone in the plumbing industry. Certainly, contractors have either heard similar words or felt similar opinions for years. The examples are numerous — from the guidance counselor who thinks trade school is the answer only for the bottom half of the graduating class to the homeowner who scoffs at the price of a repair. No matter what form it takes, it is frustrating. 

These types of comments just feed a false narrative. They are elitist and dismissive of these important professions.

It is not all bad news. Some folks rallied to the plumbing industry’s defense. Sure, a lot of it was politically motivated, but we will take what we can get.

Representative Mike Collins said, “The elites too often look down their noses at blue collar, middle America. They try to demean a man by calling him a plumber. As if plumbing is something to be ashamed of or is somehow a lesser profession than a court jester turning tricks on late night commentary (comedy is dead).”

Senator Ted Cruz followed with “I prefer plumbers to woke & unfunny comedians.”

Perhaps my favorite X comment was from the U.S. Oil and Gas Association who said “Jimmy Kimmel is paid $94,000/hour every night to produce a giant something that a plumber will charge $94 an hour to finally make go away.”

But still, the comment stings. Not because it is one person spouting off on a network station that folks who have cut the cord can’t even find; no, it stings because the plumbing industry has worked hard to get a positive message out.