Topline<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump called for ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired on Monday for joking that Melania Trump had \u201ca glow like an expectant widow\u201d days before Saturday\u2019s shooting at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association Dinner. <\/p>\n
Jimmy Kimmel at the 98th Annual Oscars held at Dolby Theatre on March 15, 2026 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rich Polk\/Penske Media via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Penske Media via Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
Trump alleged Kimmel was making a \u201cdespicable call to violence\u201d and called for him to \u201cbe immediately fired\u201d in a post on Truth Social.<\/a><\/p>\n Kimmel did not mention the possibility that Trump could be assassinated, but made several references to the 79-year-old president\u2019s age and health throughout the monologue, in which he parodied the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association Dinner and said Melania Trump was there and had \u201ca glow like an expectant widow.\u201d<\/p>\n White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also blamed Trump\u2019s critics for Saturday\u2019s shooting, specifically calling out Kimmel during a press conference Monday, and alleging Kimmel was referring to \u201cthe potential murder of her beloved husband.\u201d<\/p>\n Melania Trump also called on ABC to \u201ctake a stand\u201d against Kimmel, accusing him of \u201chateful and violent rhetoric\u201d without specifically mentioning the shooting in a post on X Monday.<\/p>\n Republicans have tried to blame Trump\u2019s critics for Saturday\u2019s shooting after suspect Cole Tomas Allen\u2019s manifesto revealed he planned to target \u201cadministration officials . . . from highest-ranking to lowest,\u201d though he did not mention Trump by name.<\/p>\n Leavitt said Monday \u201cthe left-wing cult of hatred against the president and all of those who support him and work for him has gotten multiple people hurt and killed and it almost did so again this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n Crucial Quote<\/p>\n \u201cThose who constantly falsely label and slander the president as a fascist, as a threat to democracy and compare him to Hitler to score political points are fueling this kind of violence,\u201d Leavitt said, adding, \u201cWhen you read the manifesto of this shooter, ask yourselves: \u2018How different is the rhetoric from this almost assassin from what you read on social media and hear in various forms every day?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Tangent<\/p>\n Trump initially called for unity in the wake of Saturday\u2019s shooting. \u201cWe have to resolve our differences,\u201d he said in a press conference almost immediately after the incident. He said there was a \u201ctremendous amount of love and coming together\u201d between the press corps and government officials, despite their contentious relationship during Trump\u2019s term. In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, he said, \u201cI saw some Democrats, as we were leaving\u2014and they were generally hostile\u2014and last night they were waving to me . . . the place was just coming together. It was very nice to see.\u201d Trump changed course later in the day, however, when he attacked 60 Minutes correspondent Norah O\u2019Donnell for reading a segment of the shooter\u2019s manifesto that said, \u201cI am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.\u201d Trump, apparently assuming the shooter was referring to him, told O\u2019Donnell, \u201cyou should be ashamed of yourself for reading that, because I\u2019m not any of those things. You shouldn\u2019t be reading that on \u201860 Minutes.\u2019 You\u2019re a disgrace.\u201d<\/p>\n Key Background<\/p>\n Trump has repeatedly warred with ABC in both his personal and official capacities over what he views as unfair coverage. Kimmel was suspended briefly by the network in September for suggesting the \u201cMAGA gang\u201d was \u201cdesperately trying to characterize [suspect Tyler Robinson] as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points,\u201d referring to the alleged shooter of Charlie Kirk. ABC suspended Kimmel after Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr threatened to punish the network if it failed to take action against Kimmel over the comments. Trump has also called for ABC stations\u2019 broadcast licenses to be revoked and sued ABC in his personal capacity for defamation over its coverage of writer E. Jean Carroll\u2019s lawsuit against him. The network settled with Trump for $15 million. <\/p>\n Further Reading<\/p>\n Melania Trump Accuses Jimmy Kimmel Of \u2018Hateful And Violent Rhetoric\u2019<\/a> (Forbes)<\/p>\n