U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have called for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired.
It came after Kimmel joked that Melania had the “glow of an expectant widow” in a sketch mimicking the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The sketch aired two nights before the actual event, attended by the Trumps, where a gunman opened fire.
Trump previously tried to get Kimmel taken off air in 2025 over comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Context
Kimmel made the joke as part of a sketch aired on Thursday night, parodying the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night.
The White House Correspondents’ Association hosts the annual dinner for members of the press and U.S. government officials, including the President. The dinner is broadcast live and usually includes a comedian roasting the current President and his team. Kimmel performed the roast in 2012.
Shooting
On Saturday, a gunman rushed a checkpoint at the hotel where the dinner was being held and opened fire.
According to officials, the attack occurred roughly 20 minutes after Trump entered the premises. The suspect was tackled and arrested before reaching the ballroom.
Trump, Melania, Vice President JD Vance and cabinet officials were evacuated from the event.
31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen has since been charged with attempting to assassinate the president.
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White House
Following the attempted shooting, Melania posted to X, calling on ABC to “take a stand” on Kimmel.
The President also posted to social media, saying that Kimmel “should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC”.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “Who in their right minds would say a wife would be glowing over the potential murder of her beloved husband? And having experienced what I did with the First Lady on Saturday night, I can tell you that she was anything but that.”
Kimmel
In the opening monologue for his show on Monday night (local time), Kimmel defended the joke, clarifying that it was not a “call to assassination”.
At the time of writing, Disney and ABC have not publicly responded to the Trumps’ comments.
2025 incident
This is not the first time the Trump administration has pushed to get Kimmel off air.
In September 2025, Kimmel’s show was suspended after he criticised the way Trump and his political allies responded to the assassination of conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
The suspension came after federal regulators threatened action against ABC and its parent company Disney.
ABC pulled the show within hours. It returned after six days off-air.
