Trump Calls for Jimmy Kimmel to Be Fired Over "Expectant Widow" Joke
Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel is facing significant backlash after a comedy sketch aired just days before the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are now publicly demanding that ABC fire the comedian, alleging that his routine served as a "despicable call to violence."
The controversy centers on a parody of the gala dinner that aired on the show last Thursday. In the skit, Kimmel dressed in a tuxedo and joked about the President and First Lady’s age gap. "Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow," Kimmel said. He also teased her upcoming birthday, suggesting she would mark the occasion by "looking out a window and whispering, 'What have I done?'"
The President and First Lady were evacuated safely after shots were fired at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night. Following the event, Melania Trump took to X on Monday to condemn the sketch, describing it as "hateful and violent rhetoric." She stated that Kimmel's words are "corrosive" and "deepens the political sickness within America." She further claimed the host was a "coward" who hides behind the network, asking, "How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behaviour at the expense of our community."
On Truth Social, President Trump echoed these sentiments, writing that he appreciates that so many people are "incensed by Kimmel's" remarks. He insisted the comedian "should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC."
Returning to his show on Monday, Kimmel defended the segment, characterizing it as a "very light roast joke about the fact that he's [President Trump] almost 80 and she's younger than I am." He rejected the accusations that his comedy incited violence, stating, "It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination."
Kimmel also deflected the criticism back toward the Trump administration. Regarding the First Lady’s comments on rhetoric, he said: "I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject, I think a great place to start to dial that back is having a conversation with your husband about it."
This is not the first time the host has faced calls for his removal. Last September, ABC briefly took him off the air following comments he made about the murder of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. At that time, Kimmel returned after acknowledging that his remarks were "ill-timed or unclear or maybe both."
As of Tuesday, ABC has yet to issue a formal comment regarding the growing pressure to remove the host from his position.
Image: Mateusz Kudła, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
