First lady Melania Trump ripped into Jimmy Kimmel on Monday over a joke the late night host made last week calling her an “expectant widow.”
On Thursday night’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” the comedian parodied the upcoming White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. The annual dinner is usually hosted by a comedian who roasts powerful people, including the president. This time, however, the host was to be a mentalist.
“So I thought, why not … do some of the jokes a comedian might do if our president wasn’t a trembling drama queen who’s scared of comedy?” Kimmel said in his monologue from behind a podium, before introducing the first lady.
“Look at Melania, so beautiful,” the host said. “Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”
Two days later, a man opened fire outside the official dinner at the Washington Hilton before police tackled and arrested him. Attendees, which included the Trumps, were whisked away by the Secret Service. While Kimmel could not have possibly predicted such an event, the president’s supporters called for the comedian to step down over his Thursday comments.
In her Monday post on X, the first lady called the late night host a “coward” who “shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.”
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country,” Trump continued. “His monologue about my family isn’t comedy- his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America.”
A spokesperson for Kimmel did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
The White House has tried to get Kimmel kicked off the air before. Last year, ABC faced intense backlash over its decision to suspend the host over his comments about slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. President Donald Trump also targeted late night hosts like Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers over their jokes that are critical of the administration, a constitutionally protected right.
“Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him,” the first lady said. “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.”
Melania Trump made no mention of the violent and hateful rhetoric her husband has become internationally recognized for.
