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 Federal Communications Commission’s unprecedented review of his network, ABC’s, broadcast licenses.
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.” Trump also chimed in on Truth Social, calling for Kimmel to be fired, saying: “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.”
What Do We Know About Fcc’s Review Of Abc?
The FCC filed an order on Tuesday, opening an unprecedented early review Disney’s ABC broadcast licenses for eight stations owned by the network. The order, which came a day after Trump’s demand for Kimmel’s firing, directs Disney to file license renewals for all of its licensed ABC TV stations by May 28. The order doesn’t mention the late night host’s name or his show, and instead attributes the review to Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices, something the Trump administration has sought to crackdown on. Kimmel didn’t mention the FCC review in his monologue and its unclear if this is because the show was taped before details of the review became public.
Further Reading
FCC Launches Review Of 8 ABC Stations’ Licenses After Kimmel’s Melania Trump Joke (Forbes)
Kimmel Responds To Melania Trump—Says She Should Start With The President On Dialing Back ‘Violent Rhetoric’ (Forbes)
Melania Trump Accuses Jimmy Kimmel Of ‘Hateful And Violent Rhetoric’ (Forbes)
