The long-standing feud between President Trump and Jimmy Kimmel reached a fever pitch Monday as the president and First Lady Melania Trump called for the comedian’s immediate termination.
The outcry follows a monologue joke Kimmel delivered during Thursday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” where he referred to Melania Trump as an “expectant widow.”
The timing of the joke has become a central point of contention. Just two days after the broadcast, 31-year-old Cole Allen was arrested at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Authorities say Allen was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives; he now faces attempted assassination charges that carry a potential life sentence.
President Trump took to Truth Social to link the monologue to the security breach, labeling the joke a “despicable call to violence.”
READ: Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett Questions If Assassination Attempt At WHCD Was “Fake”
He argued that the incident with the armed intruder made the comment “far beyond the pale” and urged ABC and its parent company, Disney, to fire the host.
Melania Trump echoed these sentiments on X, describing Kimmel’s rhetoric as “hateful and violent” and intended to “divide our country.” She characterized his words as “corrosive” and called on ABC leadership to “take a stand” against what she described as “atrocious behavior.”
Kimmel addressed the backlash during his Monday night program, defending the remark as a standard roast-style joke focused on the couple’s age gap. The First Lady recently turned 56, making her 24 years younger than her husband, who will turn 80 in June.
“I said, ‘our first lady Melania’s here. Look at her. So beautiful, Mrs. Trump. You have a glow like an expectant widow,’ which obviously was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together,” Kimmel told his audience. He noted that the First Lady is actually three years younger than he is himself.
READ: Melania Trump Rips Jimmy Kimmel’s ‘Widow’ Gag After D.C. Shooting: ‘Enough Is Enough’
Kimmel firmly rejected the accusation that his monologue was an incitement to violence, pointing to his history of advocating against gun violence.
“It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination and they know that,” Kimmel said. He suggested that while he understands the First Lady experienced a “stressful experience” over the weekend, the responsibility for toning down political rhetoric should start closer to home.
“I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it,” the host added.
As of Tuesday morning, neither ABC nor Disney has issued an official statement regarding the calls for Kimmel’s firing. Meanwhile, Cole Allen remains in custody as the investigation into the attempted assassination continues.
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