Trumps Demand ABC Fire Jimmy Kimmel Over 'Expectant Widow' Joke About First Lady

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump called Monday for ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after he joked during a Thursday skit that Melania had 'a glow like an expectant widow' — a line the White House labeled a 'call to violence' and Kimmel defended as a roast joke about the age gap between the president and his wife, according to The Guardian and PBS NewsHour.

The Details

During a Thursday segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host staged a mock version of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, delivering a quip directed at the first lady: 'So beautiful, Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,' according to The Guardian.

The joke aired three days before the actual White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday, which was cut short after a California man, Cole Tomas Allen, allegedly attempted to enter the ballroom carrying guns and knives, according to PBS NewsHour. Allen was later charged with attempted assassination of the president.

By Monday, both the president and first lady had gone public with demands for Kimmel's removal. Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that 'Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC,' describing the joke as 'a despicable call to violence' that was 'far beyond the pale,' PBS NewsHour reported.

Melania Trump posted on X, accusing Kimmel of spreading 'hateful and violent rhetoric' and urging the network to act. 'People like Kimmel shouldn't have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate,' she wrote. 'Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand,' according to PBS NewsHour.

Kimmel addressed the backlash directly during his Monday night monologue, rejecting the administration's characterization of the joke. 'It was not — by any stretch of the definition — a call to assassination. And they know that,' he said, according to The Guardian. He described the line as a 'light roast joke' about the age difference between Trump and Melania.

Kimmel also turned the administration's language back on itself. In a reference to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said before the dinner that 'there will be some shots fired tonight,' Kimmel said authorities should look into 'this psychic lady too,' The Guardian reported.

Leavitt, speaking for the White House, framed Kimmel's rhetoric as contributing to a broader threat. She said his comments were part of a campaign that 'has helped to legitimize this violence,' according to PBS NewsHour. Asked directly about the 'expectant widow' line, Leavitt said: 'Who in their right mind says a wife would be glowing over the potential murder of her beloved husband?'

Actor George Clooney pushed back on the calls for Kimmel's firing. 'Jokes are jokes,' Clooney said, according to Variety and Rolling Stone.

Context

The confrontation is not the first between Kimmel and the Trump administration. ABC suspended Kimmel in September 2025 after FCC chair Brendan Carr threatened the network over jokes Kimmel had made about the president, according to The Guardian. ABC later reinstated him.

The timing of the current dispute is complicated by the events at Saturday's Correspondents' Dinner. Kimmel's joke aired three days before Cole Tomas Allen allegedly attempted to enter the ballroom armed with weapons; Allen was subsequently charged with attempted assassination of the president, according to PBS NewsHour. The administration used the proximity of the joke and the security incident as the basis for its most serious allegation — that Kimmel's language contributed to political violence.

The Guardian also reported that critics of the Trump administration have previously pointed to violent rhetoric from Trump himself, including his 2020 call for supporters to 'fight like hell' and statements urging people to 'knock the crap out of' protesters. Those earlier statements are part of the broader context in which both sides are trading accusations over incitement.

What's Next

As of Monday, ABC and Disney had not publicly responded to the Trumps' demands, according to The Guardian and PBS NewsHour. No disciplinary action against Kimmel had been announced.

Kimmel indicated in his monologue that he does not plan to apologize. Whether ABC moves to distance itself from its host — as it did with his temporary suspension in September 2025 — remains an open question. The Guardian reported no indication of imminent network action following Monday's posts.