President Donald Trump on Thursday continued to call for Disney-owned ABC to terminate late-night host Jimmy Kimmel with a scathing Truth Social post.
Kimmel’s “expectant widow” joke from last week about first lady Melania Trump went viral on social media in the wake of Saturday’s attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) Dinner, prompting the president and first lady to call for ABC to act.
“When is ABC Fake News Network firing seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel, who incompetently presides over one of the Lowest Rated shows on Television? People are angry. It better be soon!!! President DJT,” Trump wrote on Thursday.
During a mock WHCA Dinner, Kimmel suggested the first lady had the glow of an “expectant widow.” Following backlash, Kimmel insisted his jab suggesting the first lady will be happy when her husband dies “was a very light roast joke” about his age; Trump will turn 80 in June.
ABC and Disney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“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,” Melania Trump posted Monday on X.
“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.”
EX-OBAMA AIDE CALLS ON KIMMEL TO APOLOGIZE FOR ‘TASTELESS’ JOKE AHEAD OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Kimmel, one of Hollywood’s most outspoken critics of Trump, has continued personal attacks each night on the ABC late-night show despite backlash to the “widow” remark.
Last year, Kimmel was briefly suspended by Disney after controversial remarks about the assassination of Charlie Kirk sparked outrage, and ABC said the show would be preempted indefinitely. He returned to the air days later and insisted he never intended to make light of Kirk’s death.
Charlie’s widow, Erika Kirk, is among the vocal critics of Kimmel’s “expectant widow” remark.
“We are all human beings, and if you can just pause and just take a minute and ask yourself, ‘How would you feel if, even just one person, made cruel jokes about the attempted murder of your loved one?’ That is what Jimmy Kimmel did to the first lady,” Kirk said on Wednessday.
JIMMY KIMMEL REMAINS DEFIANT, INSISTS ‘EXPECTANT WIDOW’ JAB AGAINST TRUMPS WAS ABOUT AGE DIFFERENCE
“The ‘glow of an expectant widow,’ just 48 hours before that nightmare almost became a reality,” she continued. “In this culture we’re living in, [it] absorbs disagreement as a form of personal betrayal, it turns having an opposing viewpoint into a moral crime worthy of punishment.”
The alleged WHCA Dinner attacker, Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, is accused of targeting top Trump administration officials. He is facing three counts, including attempting to assassinate the President of the United States, transporting a firearm across state lines and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Top DOJ officials said Monday that additional charges are expected, and he faces life imprisonment.
