Topline
Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday continued to address the fallout of his Melania Trump “expectant widow” joke as he mocked a comment President Donald Trump made about his own age and marriage, although the late-night host made no mention of the FCC’s decision to review his network, ABC’s, broadcast licenses.
Kimmel again took shots at Trump as he continued to address the fallout of his Melania Trump “expectant widow” joke.
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Key Facts
In his opening monologue, Kimmel brought up the President’s speech, welcoming Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla to Washington, D.C., for an official state visit.
In his speech, Trump mentioned his mother, Mary MacLeod, who immigrated from the U.K., and talked about her 63-year marriage to his father, Fred, before turning to the First Lady and saying: “If you don’t mind, that’s a record we won’t be able to match, darling.”
Kimmel then chimed in, saying, “Wait a minute – did he just make a joke about his death? My God. He should be fired for that,” triggering laughter and applause from the audience.
The comedian then continued, saying only Trump could call for him to be fired for “making a joke about his old age,” and a day later, “go out and make a joke about his own old age.”
On Monday, Kimmel said his “expectant widow” joke about the First Lady was “obviously” about the couple’s age difference and not a call for violence against the president.
Key Background
In a segment of his show that aired last week, Kimmel parodied the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and joked about Trump’s purported health problems. Kimmel then mentioned the first lady and said, “Look at her. So beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.” Although the joke did not initially trigger any reaction, it came under the spotlight once again after a shooting at the White House Correspondent Dinner on Saturday that law enforcement authorities have deemed an assassination attempt targeting Trump and members of his government. In a post on X, Melania Trump derided the skit, accused Kimmel of engaging in “hateful and violent rhetoric,” and demanded Kimmel’s network, ABC, “take a stand.”