Donald Trump on Monday called for Jimmy Kimmel to be immediately fired by Disney and ABC after a joke about Melania Trump triggered a political storm. The demand came after a routine late-night monologue turned into a White House flashpoint.
The dispute began with remarks made on Jimmy Kimmel Live last Thursday, where Kimmel staged a mock version of the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner and delivered roast-style jokes. It quickly escalated after an armed man later tried to enter the real dinner venue where Trump and senior political leaders had gathered.
Kimmel showed a fake video of Melania Trump and Barron Trump sitting in his studio audience. Addressing the First Lady, he said: "Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow."
The line was widely seen as a joke about the President's health and claims that Melania Trump is unhappy in the marriage.
Flashpoint
The controversy intensified two days later when the real White House Correspondents' Dinner was cut short after a man carrying guns and knives allegedly tried to enter the Washington ballroom.
Trump and Melania Trump were evacuated. Cole Tomas Allen was later charged with attempted assassination of the president in a Washington court.
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Trump linked the incident and Kimmel's joke in a post on Truth Social.
"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," he wrote.
"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."
Pressure Mounts
Melania Trump added to the criticism earlier in the day in a post on X.
"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 deepen the political sickness within America," she wrote.
"A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him. Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand."
Representatives for ABC and Kimmel had not responded at the time of publication.
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