President Donald Trump called Monday for ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after he jokingly called first lady Melania Trump an “expectant widow” during a White House Correspondents’ Dinner skit on his show last week.
Hours earlier, Melania Trump had implied Kimmel should lose his job over the same comments.
“Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC,” Trump said in a Truth Social post, calling the joke a “despicable call to violence.”
Kimmel’s monologue — which he made Thursday on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” days before the alleged gunman attempted to enter the event where President Trump, Melania Trump and other top officials were evacuated — included a joke that the first lady had “a glow like an expectant widow.”
“His monologue about my family isn’t comedy — his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America,” Melania Trump said in a statement on X Monday morning.
“People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate. A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him. Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community,” she continued.
The Trumps’ criticism sets up a major free speech stress test for ABC’s parent company, Disney, amid ongoing public scrutiny of how major corporations respond to presidential pressure. Representatives for ABC and Kimmel have not responded to CNN’s requests for comment.
Kimmel, speaking during a mock version of the annual dinner two nights before the official event, delivered a series of jokes aimed at the president and his family. Typically, a comedian headlines the dinner, and Kimmel’s skit involved him delivering remarks as though he were the comedian selected to roast the attendees.
“Our first lady is here. Mrs. Trump … you have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel said.
“By the way, in the unfortunate event that our president has a medical emergency tonight, do we have a doctor in the house — oh, I’m sorry. I mean, do we have a Jesus in the house? I always confuse them, too,” he added, referring to a meme President Trump had previously posted and then deleted on Truth Social that appeared to depict him as Jesus.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Kimmel’s comments “completely deranged” during a press briefing Monday, adding that type of rhetoric has “led crazy people to believe crazy things, and they are inspired to commit violence because of those words. It has to stop.”
Melania Trump, who like her husband was whisked offstage during the security incident, made an unexpected appearance at the White House briefing room while the president spoke to the press later that night. However, she has not publicly commented on the shooting, and her forceful criticism of Kimmel marks her first public remarks on the matter.
Saturday was the first time the first lady, who has closely guarded her privacy and independence in her second term, has been alongside her husband when he has been aggressively evacuated by the Secret Service.
The president, who had told reporters that it was “a rather traumatic experience” for his wife, was asked Sunday whether she had been scared.
“I don’t want to say, and people don’t like having it said that they were scared, but certainly, I mean, who wouldn’t be when you have a situation like that?” he told CBS.
The first lady’s social media post sets up another major free speech controversy over Kimmel, who was previously targeted by the Trump administration for a comment he made after conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination. The late-night host had mocked the president for talking about the White House East Wing renovation when a reporter asked him about Kirk’s death, and in the following night’s show said that “many in MAGA-land are working very hard to capitalize on the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr — the administration official responsible for licensing ABC’s local stations — publicly pressured the company to punish Kimmel at the time.
At least two major owners of ABC-affiliated stations subsequently said they would not air Kimmel’s show, sparking speculation that the owners were trying to curry favor with the administration and contributing to ABC’s decision to preempt the late-night show indefinitely.
Free speech groups immediately condemned ABC for appearing to cave to the government, and a public groundswell of support in Kimmel’s favor garnered national attention. ABC restored the show less than a week later, and Kimmel’s anti-Trump brand of comedy has been even more prominent since then.
Any response to the president and first lady’s criticism will involve Disney and will be an early test for new CEO Josh D’Amaro, who succeeded Bob Iger last month.
This story has been updated with additional reporting and context.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.
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