President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on Monday called for ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, alleging he incited violence through a recent comedy segment. In the segment aired last Thursday on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he imagined delivering a monologue at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Kimmel joked, “Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.” The remark appeared to reference speculation about the president’s health.
Kimmel also joked about Jeffrey Epstein and made additional remarks targeting the president. On Saturday, during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, authorities arrested a gunman and charged him with attempted assassination. However, officials said he did not fire any shots and never entered the main ballroom where the president was seated.
Posting on social media, Melania Trump wrote, “His monologue about my family isn’t comedy- his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America…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. ”
The president also criticized the comedian, saying, “Wow, Jimmy Kimmel, who is in no way funny … made a statement on his Show that is really shocking … A day later a lunatic tried entering the ballroom of the White House Correspondents Dinner, loaded up with a shotgun, handgun, and many knives.” Kimmel has not publicly responded.
