Debate breakout star Ken Bone charms Jimmy Kimmel, says he's still on the fence


Arguably the only real winner of Sunday night's presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton was Ken Bone, an audience member who asked a question about energy policy and became instantly famous for his red sweater and mustache. Jimmy Kimmel interviewed him on Monday's Kimmel Live, and the first questions weren't exactly hard-hitting. "Do you have any idea of how adorable you are?" Kimmel asked. "That's a definitive yes," Bone said.
"When did you find out that you'd suddenly become famous?" Kimmel asked. Bone explained that the debate audience wasn't allowed to have phones or other electronic devices inside the debate hall, and "when I turned my phone back on when I got back to my car, at about 10:15 central [time] and I had a few thousand missed messages, I started to think maybe today was going to be a long day." It's when Kimmel asked Bone if he was still undecided over who he will vote for that things got interesting. "Everybody doesn't like it that much, but I think I'm more undecided than I was before," Bone said. "I had to sort of put my head down while mom and dad were arguing over Thanksgiving dinner last night."
"Are you, like, an indecisive person in general?" Kimmel asked. "Not usually," Bone said. "This is an unusual political cycle, it's been so negative, and I try to really base most of my decisions on positive things, and neither of them has given me many. Donald Trump maybe is more in line with my economic interests, because I work in coal electricity, but I would really hate for anyone's rights to be taken back. We fought so hard to get marriage equality and rights expanded to more Americans, and I couldn't — it would be unconscionable for me to see those taken away by a Supreme Court justice appointed by Donald Trump." Kimmel's audience liked that, and when an audience member dressed like Bone asked how he got his famous style, Bone answered: "I would love to say that I was born this way. I think the short answer is that my wife dresses me, like all great Americans." Watch below. Peter Weber
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
2 kids killed in shooting at Catholic school mass
Speed Read 17 others were wounded during a morning mass at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodus
Speed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclub
Speed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's ills
Speed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, Stallone
Speed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's view
Speed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talk
Speed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'
Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposes
speed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wife
speed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play