President Trump on Monday called on Disney’s ABC to remove late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke he made last week about Melania Trump , in the latest skirmish between the administration and the comedian.
During a mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech, Kimmel made a remark about the first lady, saying, “Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.” Kimmel, the host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” performed the bit on April 23.
“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,” Trump said Monday on Truth Social. “Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
Disney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Monday, the first lady also called on Disney’s ABC to “take a stand” against Kimmel.
“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,” she wrote on X. “How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also criticized Kimmel during a Monday press briefing.
Kimmel’s comment came before Saturday, when suspected gunman Cole Allen opened fire outside the correspondents’ dinner. Prosecutors have charged the 31-year-old with three counts, including attempting to assassinate Trump . Saturday’s shooting was the third assassination attempt of the president, according to the White House.
The first lady sat next to the president when the shooting occurred and ducked under a table before she was ushered by security offstage. Trump later said the event was a “traumatic experience” for the first lady.
In September, Disney temporarily pulled Kimmel’s show from the air after the host mocked Trump’s response to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and seemed to suggest Kirk’s killer was connected to the MAGA movement, which there isn’t evidence of. Those comments were widely criticized in conservative media and by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr .
Kimmel returned to ABC after a four-day absence, following widespread criticism of the decision to bench him from viewers, media watchdogs, celebrities and other late-night hosts.
The newest backlash against Kimmel comes at a moment of extreme tension between the Trump administration and the media. Last week, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel sued the Atlantic for defamation after it published an article highlighting concerns about his drinking habits and professional conduct.
That suit was one of many legal conflicts between the administration and the media outlets chronicling it. A federal judge in April dismissed Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the publisher of The Wall Street Journal. A spokesman for Trump’s legal team said the president would “refile this powerhouse lawsuit” against the Journal and other defendants.
Earlier this year, FCC issued what it called “guidance” on its equal-time rules, which apply to radio and broadcast television and require shows that have candidates on during elections to also bring on their opponents. The new guidance was widely interpreted as being aimed at late-night and daytime shows that often feature Democratic politicians.
Write to Isabella Simonetti at isabella.simonetti@wsj.com and Meridith McGraw at Meridith.McGraw@WSJ.com
