PoliticsJimmy Kimmel Roasts 'Dumb' Sen. Eric Schmitt After He Accidentally Exposed Jack Smith as a Caitlin Clark Fan in Attempted Takedown
Eric Schmitt presented messages he said connected Jack Smith to Atlanta.
Oct. 3 2026, Published 8:22 a.m. ET
Sen. Eric Schmitt’s attempted takedown of former special counsel Jack Smith collapsed when his supposed evidence of a covert trip to Atlanta only revealed Smith to be a Caitlin Clark fan.
The Missouri Republican made the accusation September 29 during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing examining Smith’s investigations into President Donald Trump.
Schmitt Unveils His ‘Proof’
Jack Smith explained that the messages referred to the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Schmitt displayed messages referencing Smith attending a “Hawks” game and argued they proved he had traveled to Atlanta, where Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was pursuing a separate election-interference case against Trump at the time.
“I don’t think you know that we have this stuff,” Schmitt told Smith. “So I’ll give you a second to process it so you don’t, you know, perjure yourself.”
Schmitt also called Smith a “total dirtbag” while pressing the allegation.
There was one problem: The messages referred to the Iowa Hawkeyes, not the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
‘You Had the Teams Wrong’
Sen. Amy Klobuchar pointed out the difference between the Hawkeyes and Atlanta Hawks.
Smith explained that he had attended a University of Maryland women’s basketball game in College Park to watch Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) clarified the distinction for Schmitt.
“Could it then be that University of Iowa is the Hawkeyes?” she asked. “You had the teams wrong, sir.”
Schmitt declined her call to apologize and later continued defending his questioning. When a TMZ DC reporter later told him footage placed Smith at the Iowa-Maryland game, Schmitt responded, “Great. Well, then he was at the Hawkeyes game.”
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Jimmy Kimmel Finds a New Nickname
Jimmy Kimmel mocked Eric Schmitt after the basketball mix-up became public.
“He had text messages that he said proved Jack Smith was in Atlanta, presumably scheming with the district attorney,” Jimmy Kimmel explained on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
“The only problem is Jack Smith wasn’t in Atlanta at a Hawks game,” he said. “He was in Maryland at an Iowa Hawkeyes game.”
After showing Schmitt’s questioning, Kimmel delivered his verdict.
“Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb,” he said. “Oh, Eric, what a Schmitthead you are.”
Even Fox News Joins In
Brit Hume criticized Eric Schmitt over the Senate hearing blunder.
Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume also criticized Schmitt after an AI-generated image portrayed the senator as a clown and mapped the distance between Atlanta and College Park.
“He brought this on himself and deserves the obloquy,” Hume wrote on X.
Kimmel focused on Schmitt’s refusal to concede the error.
“He’s acting like he got him,” Kimmel said, “and probably screaming at his staff quietly on the side.”
