Jimmy Kimmel Claps Back at Melania Trump’s Demand to Fire Him Over ‘Expectant Widow’ Joke

Jimmy Kimmel has pushed back hard against calls from Donald and Melania Trump to get him fired over a joke he made about the first lady. The comedian described her as glowing like an expectant widow during a bit on his show just days before the White House correspondents dinner incident.

The whole thing kicked off when Melania spoke out on Monday accusing Kimmel of using hateful and violent rhetoric. She called his comments atrocious and said it was time for ABC to take a real stand against him. The Trumps have never been fans of the late night host who has roasted them plenty over the years but this time they took it to another level demanding his job.

Kimmel made the line during a skit where he pretended to host the correspondents dinner. He said something like our first lady Melania is here so beautiful and she has this glow like an expectant widow. It was clearly poking fun at the big age gap between her and the president who is nearly eighty while she is younger than Kimmel himself.

On his Monday night show Kimmel did not back down one bit. He told the audience you know how it is when you wake up and the first lady is calling for you to lose your job we have all been there right. He reminded everyone that his joke came three full days before the shooting at the dinner and had nothing to do with it. It was just a light roast he explained about their relationship and the way she sometimes looks when they are together.

He went on to say he felt sorry for everyone who went through that scary night at the dinner even if thankfully no one was killed. But he rejected the idea that his words had any connection to what happened calling that a stretch. Kimmel also pointed out his long history of speaking out against gun violence and suggested the Trumps might want to look at their own rhetoric first. He mentioned free speech under the First Amendment and said a good place to start dialing back the hate would be a conversation between Melania and her husband.

Melania had posted on X saying Kimmels words were meant to divide the country and that his monologue was not comedy but something corrosive that deepens political problems. She called him a coward hiding behind ABC and urged the network to stop enabling him.

Donald Trump jumped in later on Truth Social agreeing that Kimmel should be fired immediately by Disney and ABC. He said the joke was a despicable call to violence far beyond the pale. Some other Republicans like Meghan McCain also chimed in saying they were tired of the hate Kimmel spreads.

This is not the first time Kimmel has clashed with the administration. Last September ABC suspended him temporarily after complaints about other Trump jokes but brought him back amid free speech concerns. The latest spat shows tensions are still running high in the world of politics and late night television.