Jimmy Kimmel caused controversy after quipping that first lady Melania Trump has a “glow like an expectant widow” days before the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
On the Thursday, April 23, episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel made the widow joke, which has not aged well after shots were fired throughout the event on Saturday, April 25. President Donald Trump was rushed off stage by the Secret Service amid the safety incident. Authorities said the suspect, identified as Cole Allen, had a shotgun, a .38-caliber pistol and several other knives on him.
“I need to thank the primary lady, that was a quite traumatic experience for her,” Donald told reporters from the White House on Saturday hours after the ordeal. “We’re not going to let anybody take over our society, we’re not going to cancel things out … we are able to’t do this.”
While the gunman was apprehended on the scene, Kimmel’s nonchalant comments have sparked backlash.
Scroll down for every little thing we find out about Kimmel’s controversy surrounding Melania:
What Did Jimmy Kimmel Say About Melania Trump?
“Our first lady Melania is here,” Kimmel said throughout the Thursday episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! while pretending to be the host of the White House Correspondents’ Association event. “So beautiful, Mrs. Trump you could have a glow like an expectant widow.”
Kimmel later joked that for her birthday, Melania would ring within the occasion at home, “The identical way she all the time does —looking a window and whispering, ‘What have I done?’”
The talk show host also poked fun at Melania and Donald’s relationship dynamic, acting like he was introducing the distanced couple on the event. “Oh, by the best way, Melania, that is Donald. Donald, that is Melania,” Kimmel teased.
What Has Melania Trump Said in Response to Jimmy Kimmel?
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is meant to divide our country,” Melania shared in an announcement posted via X on Monday, April 27. “His monologue about my family isn’t comedy — his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness inside America. People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the chance to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.”
She continued, “A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to guard him. Enough is enough. It’s time for ABC to take a stand. How repeatedly will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior on the expense of our community.”
Jimmy Kimmel took it upon himself to offer President Donald Trump a correct roast in a brand new monologue before the upcoming White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Kimmel, 58, identified throughout the Thursday, April 23, episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! that this yr’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is breaking tradition by not having a […]
What Has President Donald Trump Said About Jimmy’s Comments?
“Wow, Jimmy Kimmel, who’s under no circumstances funny as attested to by his terrible Television Rankings, made an announcement on his Show that is absolutely shocking,” Donald wrote via Truth Social on Monday. “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 could be.”
The president explained that Kimmel “then stated, ‘Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Have a look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you could 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 plenty of knives. He was there for a really obvious and sinister reason.”
Donald noted he appreciates that “so many persons are incensed by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence, and normally wouldn’t be attentive to anything that he said but, that is something far beyond the pale.”
He then called for Kimmel’s termination, writing, “Jimmy Kimmel needs to be immediately fired by Disney and ABC. Thanks on your attention to this matter!”
Jimmy Kimmel shared his thoughts after Melania Trump held a press conference to clear up her supposed connection to Jeffrey Epstein. “Why is that this happening today?” Kimmel, 58, asked the audience throughout the Thursday, April 9, episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! before making reference to President Donald Trump‘s threats against Iran. “He spent the past […]
What Has the White House Said About Jimmy Kimmel?
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a press conference on Monday that “much of the manifesto of the would-be assassin is indistinguishable from the words that we hear each day from so many individuals,” noting that the rhetoric surrounding calls for the president’s assassination has grow to be commonplace and should be stopped.
Leavitt pointed to Kimmel’s comments for instance of the comments that proceed to plague Donald’s presidency, calling his remarks about Melania “disgusting.”
“Who of their right minds says a wife could be ‘glowing’ over the potential murder of their beloved husband?” she continued. “And having experienced what I did with the primary lady on Saturday night, I can let you know she was anything but that.”
Leavitt added, “This sort of rhetoric in regards to the president, the primary lady, and his supporters is totally deranged.”
She then identified, “Whether you’re on television, a podcast host, people listen. When you could have mentally disturbed individuals across the country who’re listening to this crazed rhetoric in regards to the president day after day after day it inspires them to do crazy things.”
Leavitt concluded, “When you could have people in positions of power saying things like this each day for years, you might be inspiring violence by people who find themselves already mentally ailing.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Kimmel’s rep and ABC for comment.