U.S. President Donald Trump is calling for ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after he called First Lady Melania Trump an “expectant widow” during a segment that aired two days before a gunman opened fire outside the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
In a post on Truth Social Monday, Trump said that Kimmel, “who is in no way funny as attested by his terrible Television ratings,” made a statement on Jimmy Kimmel Live! “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 wrote. “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,” Trump continued.
Trump said that he appreciated that “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.
Trump’s post came after his wife, Melania, shared a statement on X Monday, calling for ABC to “take a stand” against Kimmel over his comments.
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country,” Melania wrote. “His monologue about my family isn’t comedy — his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America.”
Melania said that “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,” she continued. “Enough is enough. 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.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Kimmel’s comments “completely deranged” during a press briefing Monday.
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“This kind of rhetoric about the president, the first lady and his supporters is completely deranged,” she said.
Global News has reached out to Disney and Kimmel’s representative for comment.
Kimmel’s monologue aired Thursday on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and included a joke that Melania had “a glow like an expectant widow.”
Kimmel was speaking during a mock version of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, where he pretended to be the host.
“Welcome to the 2026 correspondents’ dinner. Look at you all dressed up in formal wear, dresses, tuxedos. I haven’t seen this much black since every page of the Trump-Epstein files,” Kimmel said.
“I’m happy you decided to stay, Mr. President. And don’t worry, if we bruise your ego, it’ll only make your hands look less disgusting,” Kimmel continued. “The president didn’t want me to tell any jokes about him tonight but he also didn’t want to pay me $130,000 to shut up, so here we are.”
“By the way, in the unfortunate event that our president has a medical emergency tonight, do we have a doctor in the house — wait, sorry. Do we have a Jesus in the house? I always confuse them, too,” Kimmel said before cutting to a clip of Trump smiling in a crowd.
“And of course, our first lady, Melania, is here. So beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel said. “You know, Melania’s birthday is on Sunday. That’s right. She’s planning to celebrate at home, the same way she always does, looking out a window and whispering, ‘What have I done?’”
Kimmel went on to speak about the first lady’s documentary, titled Melania, which he said had “a score of 10 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.”
“I want to congratulate you, Madam first lady, on your huge accomplishment. The world’s first motionless picture,” Kimmel said.
“Before we go any further, Melania, this is Donald. Donald, this is Melania,” Kimmel continued. “That was my impression of Jeffrey Epstein. Pretty good, right?”
Kimmel’s comments come weeks after Melania denied reports that Epstein first introduced her to Trump while delivering a statement at the White House earlier this month, denying ties to “the disgraceful” Epstein and any knowledge of his crimes.
Trump’s latest call for ABC to fire Kimmel comes after his future looked questionable in September, when ABC suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! for remarks made following the killing of right-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk, who died after being shot at a Turning Point USA rally on Sept. 10. Following a public outcry, ABC lifted the suspension, and Kimmel returned to the air.
Trump urged the network to “get the bum off the air” in a social media post in November. The post followed Kimmel’s nearly 10-minute monologue about Trump and the Epstein files.
In his monologue, one day after the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate voted in quick succession to pass a bill compelling the Department of Justice to release files relating to the late convicted sex offender, Kimmel said: “We are now one step closer to answering the question: What did the president know, and how old were these women when he knew it?”
Hours after the show aired, Trump posted on Truth Social that Jimmy Kimmel Live! should be taken off the air again.
“Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air?” Trump wrote. “Why do the TV Syndicates put up with it?”
Trump also called Kimmel’s comments “totally biased.”
— With files from Global News’ Rachel Goodman