Jimmy Kimmel is responding to Donald Trump and Melania Trump’s calls for him to be fired from Disney and ABC. The U.S. president and first lady posted separate statements on social media condemning a joke Kimmel made at the expense of first lady Melania Trump on the Thursday, April 23, episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” which featured a mock White House Correspondents Dinner hosted by Kimmel. During the skit, the host quipped that Melania Trump had the glow of a “pregnant widow,” but days later, President Trump and his MAGA supporters erupted when the actual White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25th was brought to an abrupt end by a mass shooting.
“You know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and the first lady releases a statement demanding you be fired from your job?” Kimmel said at the beginning of Monday night’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” “We’ve all been there, right?”
The late-night host then explained that his “pregnant widow” jab was “a joke about the age difference between the two of them and the look of joy you see on (first lady Melania’s) face every time the first lady and president are together” and was in no way a call for violence.
“It was a very light joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 years old and she’s younger than me. It wasn’t a call to assassination by any stretch of the imagination. And they know it,” Kimmel said. “I’ve been a vocal voice for many years, especially against gun violence. But I understand that the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend, and she probably has a lot of stress in that house every weekend. I also agree that we should reject the hateful and violent rhetoric. I agree. And I think the best way to salvage that issue is to talk about it with your husband.”
“Jimmy Kimmel, who is by no means funny, as evidenced by his terrible TV ratings, made some truly shocking statements on his show,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He showed a fake video that made it look like First Lady Melania and our son Barron were actually sitting in his studio listening to him, but they’re not, and they never will be. And he said, ‘Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look, Melania, you’re so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you’re pregnant. The next day, a madman tried to enter the White House Correspondents’ Dinner banquet room with a shotgun, a handgun, and numerous knives. I appreciate that so many people are outraged by Kimmel’s despicable calls for violence.”
Presidents Donald Trump and Melania Trump, as well as many other White House officials, were quickly evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner as a gunman on another floor of the venue was apprehended by law enforcement. Suspected shooter Cole Thomas Allen has been charged with attempting to assassinate Donald Trump, according to NBC News.
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is aimed at dividing our country. His monologue about my family is not comedy. His words are corrosive and deepen the political ills in America,” Melania Trump posted X hours before her husband’s own post.
“People like Kimmel should never have the opportunity to enter our homes every night to spread hate. Kimmel is a coward and hides behind ABC because he knows ABC will continue to operate in the shadows to protect himself,” Melania continued. That’s enough. It’s time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocities at the expense of our communities? ”
