First Lady Melania Trump is demanding consequences for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after what she called “hateful” rhetoric—just days before a terrifying security breach at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Kimmel sparked outrage last week during a parody segment in which he mocked the Trumps, referring to the first lady as “an expectant widow” while joking about their marriage.
“Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel said.
The remark drew fierce backlash after a suspected would-be assassin attempted to storm the Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday. Authorities say 31-year-old Cole Allen of Torrance, California, rushed a Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton armed with multiple weapons and opened fire, wounding an agent before being taken into custody.
In the aftermath, Melania Trump took to X with a blistering response.
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country. His monologue about my family isn’t comedy—his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America,” she wrote.
“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,” the first lady continued. “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.”
President Donald Trump echoed the call, demanding immediate action from the network.
“Wow, Jimmy Kimmel, who is in no way funny as attested to by his terrible Television Ratings, made a statement on his Show that is really shocking,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“He then stated, ‘Our First Lady, Melania, is here… you have a glow like an expectant widow.’ A day later a lunatic tried entering the ballroom of the White House Correspondents Dinner, loaded up with a shotgun, handgun, and many knives. He was there for a very obvious and sinister reason,” Trump continued.
“I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence… this is something far beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
Kimmel, however, pushed back during his Monday night monologue, insisting the joke was harmless.
“It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am. It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination. And they know that,” he said.
While expressing sympathy for those shaken by the incident, Kimmel rejected any suggestion his comments played a role.
“I am sorry that you and the president and everyone in that room on Saturday went through that. I really am,” he said. “Because no one got killed doesn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic and scary… But do you want us to believe that a joke I made three days before this dinner had any effect on anything that happened?”
He added, “I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence… and I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it.”
Despite the backlash, ABC appears unmoved.
A network source told Page Six that executives are standing by their late-night host and have no plans to discipline him.
“It’s back to taping per usual. They’re moving on,” the insider said.
Kimmel has faced controversy before. Last year, ABC parent company Disney briefly suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” after comments related to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk triggered outrage and drew scrutiny from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who called the remarks “some of the sickest conduct.”
Kimmel later returned to air, saying he never intended to make light of the tragedy.
For now, despite renewed calls for his removal, it appears Kimmel’s job is safe—leaving critics fuming and the broader debate over media rhetoric once again front and center.
