Less than 48 hours after shots were fired near the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday night, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump directed their anger at a familiar foe: Jimmy Kimmel.
“Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC,” President Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday morning.
That followed a statement from the first lady on her X account that read, in part, “It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behaviour at the expense of our community.”
As part of a sketch on Thursday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel delivered a roast as though he were the entertainment at the annual dinner.
“Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel joked.
“A day later,” Trump wrote elsewhere in his post, mistaking when that episode aired, “a lunatic tried entering the ballroom of the White House Correspondents Dinner, loaded up with a shotgun, handgun, and many knives.”
The president deemed the joke a “despicable call to violence” even though other jokes in the sketch were directed at the 79-year-old Trump’s health.
“I’m happy you decided to stay, Mr. President. And, don’t worry, if we bruise your ego, it will only make your hands look less disgusting,” he said, referencing Trump’s frequently discoloured appendages.
“By the way, in the unfortunate event that our president has a medical emergency tonight, do we have a doctor in the house? Oh, I’m sorry, I mean do we have a Jesus in the house? I always confuse them, too,” Kimmel joked, invoking the controversial image Trump posted this month on social media.
Monday’s dustup was far from the first between the president and the late-night host.
On Sept 18, ABC announced Jimmy Kimmel Live! would “be pre-empted indefinitely.” The news came hours after FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called Kimmel’s remarks three days prior about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk “some of the sickest conduct possible.”
Carr also seemed to threaten ABC and its parent company, Disney, that day.
“Frankly,” Carr told conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, “when you see stuff like this, I mean, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”
Kimmel returned to the air Sept 23.
The president has been vocal about his dislike of the TV host, a relentless Trump critic.
“I absolutely love that (Stephen) Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,” Trump posted on Truth Social on July 18. “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.”
“Next up will be an even less talented Jimmy Kimmel, and then, a weak, and very insecure, Jimmy Fallon,” he posted July 29. “The only real question is, who will go first?”
And, on Nov. 19, Trump posted, “Nov. 19: Why does ABC Fake News keep Jimmy Kimmel, a man with NO TALENT and VERY POOR TELEVISION RATINGS, on the air? Why do the TV Syndicates put up with it? Also, totally biased coverage. Get the bum off the air!!!”
Kimmel announced he’d signed a one-year contract extension on Dec 8.
“Our show has been renewed until May of 2027,” he told his audience. “Or until the world ends. Whichever comes first.” – Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service
