Kimmel tells Biden he's 'frustrated' Dems haven't made more progress: 'In some ways, we've moved backwards'

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Montage: Jimmy Kimmel’s history of partisan rhetoric, heated remarks against Republicans

The once apolitical late-night host interviewing President Biden this week has not been shy about ripping into Republicans in recent years.

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel expressed his frustration about Democrats getting little done during his interview with President Biden. 

"I think that a lot of Democrats are frustrated because, you know, we got out and voted, we won the House, the Senate, the White House, obviously, and still — and we have made very little progress as far as I'm concerned when it comes to guns, obviously, reproductive rights, voting rights, climate change," Kimmel told the president Wednesday. "All these things and in some ways, we've moved backwards." 

Biden pushed back, saying his administration has made some "real moves" when it comes to climate change, pointing to increased green energy production and his focus on electric vehicles.

He boasted his record 81 million votes he received in the 2020 presidential election, but complained that "we still only ended up with 50 senators, which means we have 50 presidents."

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"And two of them are kind of iffy, I think, at best," Kimmel chimed in, referring to Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. 

Biden sidestepped Kimmel's swipe at the two Democrats, saying he has 48 out of 50 senators vote with him "95% of the time, more than any president has gotten from their constituency." 

President Biden sits with ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

He then swiped at Republicans for how they've been talking about the Supreme Court's imminent decision on Roe v. Wade, which the leaked draft opinion signaled that the federal precedent keeping abortions legal on the federal level would be overturned. 

"I mean, it's gonna be — it's awful," Biden exclaimed. 

"What do we do about that?" Kimmel asked. "What do you say to Joe Manchin, Kyrsten Sinema, what do you say to them when you get them on the telephone?"

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"What I say to them is — and by the way, they agree on a lot of these proposals relating to everything from choice all the way to… they're 80% of the time, but place that they're not there is Joe's not there on a lot of the things having to do with the climate and the environment because he comes from coal country and he has a different view," Biden said. "And Kyrsten is not always there when it comes to the tax policies."

President Biden speaks with host Jimmy Kimmel. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Acknowledging the soaring prices from inflation, Biden is calling for reducing costs on "prescription drugs" and "child care," suggesting it can be "relatively easy" to get legislation passed in Congress. 

"We are only a few votes away from being able to straighten it out. You have to get the message across in a way that is understandable to people like the folks in my family and we grew up, tell people what just the facts are. And the facts are… It is about building the economy… No more trickle-down," Biden said. "From the bottom-up and the middle-out because when the middle does well, everybody does well."

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Kimmel later said Americans "aren't as knowledgeable as they should be" and suggested to the president, "I think you still need to start yelling at people."

Biden's appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" marked his first television interview in several months, his last one being his pre-Super Bowl sit-down with NBC's Lester Holt.