On Monday, hours after First Lady Melania Trump had demanded the firing of ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, the president joined the call to do so.
The demand from Trump came in a Truth Social post on Monday afternoon, and was a reaction to a mock White House Correspondents Association Dinner speech that Kimmel had aired last week. The broadcast took place before the dinner itself, and therefore did not reference the gunman who appeared at the event and was arrested.
“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. He showed a fake video of the First Lady, Melania, and our son, Barron, like they were actually sitting in his studio, listening to him speak, which they weren’t, and never would be,” Trump said in the post. ‘He then stated, “Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, 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.'”
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“I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence, and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said, but this is something far beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC,” Trump added.
Once again, the video was produced before the assassination attempt, and was therefore not a reference to it.
BREAKING: Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt rips Jimmy Kimmel for his “disgusting” parody calling First Lady Melania Trump an ‘expectant widow’:
“Who in their right minds says a wife would be glowing over the potential murder of her beloved husband?”
“This kind of rhetoric about… pic.twitter.com/TcbFcb5YxJ
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 27, 2026
The White House and FCC had pushed for the cancellation of Kimmel’s show last year, following some statements by the host that followed the killing of Charlie Kirk. After affiliate pressure, Kimmel was off the air for a few days, but kept his show, and even agreed to a one-year contract extension in late 2025.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
