Melania Trump wants Jimmy Kimmel fired. It's about a joke about the president's death

US First Lady Melania Trump on Monday called on ABC to fire comedian Jimmy Kimmel for joking about her family. In a show that aired before Trump's alleged assassination attempt on Saturday, Kimmel said Melania looked like a “future widow.”

“Kimmel's hateful and violent rhetoric is designed to divide our country. His monologue about my family is not comedy – his words have a devastating impact and deepen the political disease in America. People like Kimmel should not be allowed to come into our homes every evening and spread hate,” the president's wife wrote on the X platform.

“Coward Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will protect him. Enough is enough. It's time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC management allow Kimmel to engage in heinous behavior at the expense of our community?” – she added.

Melania's post is about a Kimmel sketch from his show that aired on Thursday. The skit presented an alternate version of the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) gala. The comedian, acting as the host of the event, welcomed Melania, saying that she “beams like a future widow” (he used the words “expectant widow”, associated with “expectant mother”, i.e. future mother).

Kimmel's speech caused outrage, especially when two days later in a hotel in Washington, an armed attacker fired shots trying to get into the WHCA gala attended by, among others, US President Donald Trump. According to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the attacker likely intended to kill members of the Trump administration and the president himself. The man was overpowered; a Secret Service agent was injured, and Trump and other politicians were safely evacuated.

Previously, Kimmel joked about the first lady several times, including: about her contacts with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which she denied.

Last September Kimmel's show was temporarily suspended by ABC in response to outrage following the comedian's monologue following the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel then suggested that the “MAGA gang” was trying to portray Kirk's killer as “anyone other than one of them” (it was later revealed that the perpetrator was motivated by leftist views). The head of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and close Trump ally, Brendan Carr, threatened to fine ABC and its affiliates and suggested revoking its license if it did not punish Kimmel. The station suspended the program, but eventually restored it after allegations that the authorities were trying to censor television.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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