April 28, 2026 / 2:31 AM EDT / CBS/AP
Jimmy Kimmel has responded after Donald and Melania Trump on Monday called for ABC to fire him following a joke last week in which he described the first lady as having “the glow of an expectant widow.”
The remark about the president’s wife was part of a routine on Thursday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in which he pretended to deliver a comedy routine at the then-upcoming White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. That event two nights later was cut short when a man armed with guns and knives tried to enter the Washington ballroom where the Trumps and much of the nation’s political leadership had gathered.
“People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate,” Melania Trump said in a social media post that was later echoed by her husband. “Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand.”
In a post on his Truth Social platform Monday afternoon, Mr. Trump called Kimmel’s joke a “despicable call to violence” and said “this is something far beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
Kimmel addressed the criticism during his Monday night monologue, saying the joke was about the Trumps’ age difference and 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 noted his longtime stance against gun violence and expressed sympathy for the Trumps after Saturday’s incident. “I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence, in particular. But I understand that the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend. … And also, I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do. And I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it.”
Kimmel added that while all Americans have a right to free speech, he was sorry the Trumps and others at the dinner went through a traumatic experience. “Because no one got killed doesn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic and scary. And we should come together. … But do you want us to believe that a joke I made three days before this dinner had any effect on anything that happened (Saturday night)?”
CBS News has reached out to ABC for comment.
This is not the first public clash between Kimmel and Mr. Trump. Kimmel was pulled from the air for several nights last September after conservatives, including Mr. Trump, criticized his remarks following the shooting of Charlie Kirk. At the time, Kimmel said he did not intend to blame any specific group for the actions of a troubled individual and acknowledged that his comments had offended some.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized Thursday’s joke, saying it was part of a pattern of rhetoric from Democrats and some in the media that “has helped to legitimize this violence.” “Who in their right mind says a wife would be glowing over the potential murder of her beloved husband?” she asked, though there was no indication Kimmel was referring to violence.
The National Religious Broadcasters association filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission asking the agency to investigate ABC, with NRB president Troy Miller saying when influential voices joke about death or treat political opponents as disposable, it contributes to a culture where violence feels thinkable to the already unstable.
His late-night competitor, Stephen Colbert, another frequent Trump critic, is seeing his CBS show end next month.
Caroline Linton and Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.