Trump Says Kimmel Should Be “Immediately Fired“ for Melania Widow Joke

Donald Trump is once again calling for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired from ABC.

After Melania Trump made headlines earlier Monday by calling for ABC to cancel Jimmy Kimmel Live! in the wake of a shooting outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Trump posted on Truth Social a similar take.

“Wow, Jimmy Kimmel, who is in no way funny as attested to by his terrible Television Ratings, made a statement on his Show that is really shocking,” wrote Trump. “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. 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. 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

The post follows a suspected shooter being arrested for opening fire at the WHCD host hotel — and Attorney General Todd Blanche revealing that investigators believe the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was targeting members of Trump’s administration.

Melania Trump previously posted, “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 deepens the political sickness within America. 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. 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.”

The first lady’s statement follows ABC temporarily suspending Jimmy Kimmel Live! last September following threats from Trump’s Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr. That incident was tied to a joke Kimmel made after the assassination of Charlie Kirk. When Kimmel returned to the air, he said his joke had been “ill-timed or unclear or maybe both” and added, “I get why you’re upset.”

Representatives for ABC and Kimmel have not replied to requests for comment.

Trump has feuded with Kimmel since 2016 and has called for the talk show’s cancellation several times. Contrary to his new post, Trump frequently reacted to things Kimmel has said. Kimmel, in turn, has long made mocking Trump a focal point of his monologues. Trump previously was credited—correctly or not—with pushing CBS to cancel another late-night critic of his administration, Stephen Colbert, whose The Late Show ends next month. After the Colbert decision, Trump posted on social media, “I absolutely love that Colbert’ got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings. I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!”

The WHCD shooting marked the third time Trump’s security perimeter has been breached by a man with a gun who intended to cause the president harm during his second term. The first was in July 2024, during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on Trump with a rifle, grazing the president’s ear. The second was in September 2024, when Ryan Wesley Routh was spotted with a rifle at a golf tournament while Trump was playing. In addition, there have been other incidents, such as two foiled assassination plots allegedly perpetrated by Iran.