Last week, Jimmy Kimmel, the late-night talk show host with a terminal case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, wanted to host a segment with voters who oppose DACA. To find willing guests, ABC casting had reached out to me and fellow Trump supporters to appear on the show. At first, I was reluctant. Kimmel uses every shame-inducing prop imaginable to attack President Trump and conservatives in general. I reached out to a friend and fellow activist, Robin Hvidston, director of We the People Rising, for advice. She encouraged me to go with her and four others: Chanell Temple, Wes Parker, Lorie Masonas, and Celeste Grieg. All of us know each in other conservative circles throughout Southern California.
On the recording date, immediately I noticed along the entry corridor all kinds of photos with Kimmel’s favorite guests and craziest moments at the studio. The most prominent photo portrait featured Kimmel shaking President Barack Obama’s hand at a state dinner. I decided to fix the picture (see above).
After a brief "rehearsal," we finally met Jimmy Kimmel who interviewed each of us about the program. I told him that nearly 50% of DACA recipients are fraudulent, and illegals commit proportionally more crime than Americans. He finished our brief interview with: “I want you to meet somebody.”
After the interviews, our team waited in the Green Room. I pondered who Kimmel was going to have us meet. “He’s going to present a child who is in this country illegally,” I imagined. Lo and Behold, Kimmel introduced us to Esmeralda, a DACA recipient brought into this country by her law-breaking illegal parents. She was seated with a baby girl in her lap. Kimmel staged the most compassionate scenario, hoping to shame us into silence. Immediately, I showed the mother and child my shirt, which featured the profile of young Ruben Morfin, an all-American 13-year old boy executed by an illegal alien. “He had dreams, too,” I quickly shared before Kimmel shushed me. He would attempt to silence me an unprecedented five times. Little did Little Kimmel realize, however, but all of us were seasoned activists trained in how to deal with fawning, guilt-trip inducing liberal media hacks.
Right away, I opened up about our need to put Americans first, including our homeless veterans and foster children. “OK, Arthur, that’s enough.” And why couldn’t I finish? “Because this is my show!” Kimmel fired back. He would say that three more times. What a dictator! I mentioned general statistics about illegals committing a higher rate of crimes that native-born citizens. “OK Sean Hannity, give it a rest,” Kimmel mocked me. “I don’t watch Hannity,” I countered. Other people in our group were shocked to see how triggered the comic had become.
Kimmel tried to refocus the discussion: “Who still thinks Esmeralda should be deported?” Lorie, Wes Parker, and I raised our hands. Wes said that the baby could not be deported, but the mother should be. Celeste established that it’s a legal matter. Hoping to ratchet up the pressure, Kimmel brought in Esmeralda’s fiancé Michael, an American citizen working in the Kansas correctional system and serving in the army.
Immediately, all of us declared that Michael should marry Esmeralda. That would settle her legal status. They already had a kid together, so what was holding them back? Celeste even offered to host a fundraiser for their wedding. Because my father is ordained to officiate weddings, I offered to call him, but Kimmel refused: “Don’t call your Dad.”
I pointed out that there are ways to settle Esmeralda’s unlawful status. My friend Fernando had entered illegally, then married an American citizen. I then reasserted to Michael and Esmeralda that we are a nation of laws, and that I have not been afraid to tell illegals that they must establish legal status. “I find it hard to believe that you have friends,” Kimmel retorted. Everyone else gasped at his insolent behavior. Kimmel was trying to rile me and others up, but failed each time. I prepared to call Fernando, but Kimmel wouldn’t let me, because I would have proven how wrong he was … again.
Chanell gave the most impassioned statements, declaring how her husband was an immigrant, that she had waited in line with him for years before finalizing his naturalization status. “You are playing on our compassion! You didn’t let us bring our children!” Chanell then showed a picture of her daughter on her phone. She died at 5 years old, unable to get adequate health care. “Why won’t the federal government pay more attention to Americans?” Chanell asked. During the earlier individual interview segment, Chanell had railed against illegal aliens for stealing the civil rights movement forged by black Americans to assert their rights in the South. Chanell schooled Kimmel on the amnesty movement’s misuse of the term “Dreamer” for young illegals. “Our children are dreamers, too!”
Chanell also described the devastation which illegal immigration has wrought in black communities. In another disgusting display, Kimmel looked over to Esmeralda: “You’re not going around killing black people, are you?” It is amazing to me to what extent white liberals will dishonor the plights of the very minority communities which they virtue-signal about to the press and the public. Wes Parker slammed Kimmel’s whole set-up expertly: “You are trying to put our compassion on trial!” We refused to be bullied from our opposition to DACA. Robin reassured Esmeralda that she would not have to wait ten years for legal status if she married Michael.
The pièce de résistance occurred when Kimmel tried one more time to silence me. Bursting through all of Kimmel’s attempts to shame us, Lorie reminded the audience about the needs of American citizens. In rude yet repeated fashion, Kimmel championed Esmeralda but talked over Lorie, and I finally calmly asked: “Jimmy, why won’t you let this Latina for Trump speak? You keep interrupting her. Is it because she has darker skin than you?”
With that, Kimmel completely lost it and shouted at me: “Shut up, you a---hole!”
BAM! Everyone else in the room was shocked, including members of the production crew. I burst out laughing. I triggered this left-wing comic, and it was good! There is nothing more satisfying than catching white liberals in the depths of hypocrisy.
Kimmel even talked about the child’s safety and security. Our team answered: “If you really care about young Rosa, why don’t you adopt her while Esmeralda establishes her legal status in this country?” I then mentioned that maybe that wouldn’t be a good idea, since Hollywood is full of pedophiles, plus the whole #MeToo scandals. Everyone gasped. We really turned the tables on Kimmel at that point.
The recording for the segment wrapped up shortly afterwards. One of the production assistants smiled: “You guys did a great job. You stood your ground!” He even gave me a high five. When exiting the sound stage, I asked if I could have a donut, but one of the crew members cut me off: “Nope. Just the staff.” The attitude from some of the staffers changed. They had expected to corner us, but failed miserably. I asked about Kimmel’s side-kick parking security guard Guillermo, who leads spelling bees dressed up in a bumble-bee costume and mispronounces the spelling words. Someone snidely said to me: “He got deported.” Why would they say such a thing? Because Guillermo is Hispanic? “That’s racist”, I said out loud.
Going home, I wondered if the production crew were going to distort the forum to make us look bad. Well, Kimmel's DACA segment broadcasted that same night, and they presented us accurately as respectful and clear-headed. Kimmel’s one joke directed at me: “I’m trying to imagine you as a child,” fell flat, much like his “bombshell” guest, porn star Stormy Daniels, who had announced prior to appearing that she did nothing with Trump.
I received emails and messages from all over the country thanking us for our appearance. There have been some haters, mostly citing the discredited Southern Poverty Law Center, but their vitriol on social media merely exposed their unbelievable hate. It was a real victory for us and for Trump supporters in general. We turned the tables on a liberal media mogul, we got national attention, and we demonstrated to conservative voters that you can indeed stand your ground on contentious issues without fear.
Kimmel and Co. didn’t realize whom they were messing with, and I am glad I could relate what else happened behind the scenes. At this point, I hope that Kimmel and his production team will show some guts and release the entire video of our forum with Esmeralda, Michael, and their child!