Jimmy Kimmel called out President Trump for a hypocritical joke he made during his speech in front of King Charles as the drama between the president and the late-night host continues to unfold.
Trump mentioned on Tuesday that his late parents were married for 63 years. He then turned to first lady Melania and joked, “That’s a record we won’t be able to match, darling.”
The line came just one day after both Trump and Melania posted on social media demanding Kimmel be fired for a joke about the Trumps’ marriage.
While performing a mock White House Correspondents’ dinner roast on Thursday, Kimmel had joked that Melania had the “glow of an expectant widow.”
Although Kimmel later said the line was just making fun of Trump and Melania’s age gap, Trump declared it a “despicable call to violence” and demanded ABC fire the late-night host in response.
Kimmel, who refused in his defiant Monday monologue to apologize for any of his material, was quick in his Tuesday monologue to point out the irony in Trump’s marriage joke.
“Wait a minute, did [Trump] just make a joke about his death?” Kimmel replied.
In mock seriousness, Kimmel said, “My god. He should be fired for that.”
Kimmel added, voice brimming with incredulous anger, “Only Donald Trump would demand I be fired for making a joke about his old age, and then a day later go out and make a joke about his own old age.”
Although ABC has so far not fired Kimmel for his joke on Thursday, the Trump-appointed FCC chairman Brendan Carr appears to be pressuring the network to do so.
CNN media analyst Brian Stelter reported on Tuesday that the FCC will “call in all of the TV station licenses for Disney/ABC for early renewal.”
ABC stations receive their licenses to broadcast from the FCC, but those licenses aren’t due for renewal for several years. Stelter noted that the timing of the FCC’s move made it seem like “government retaliation” against Kimmel.
In September, Carr famously pushed ABC to punish Kimmel for a joke he made about the assassination of right-wing podcaster Charlie Kirk.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead,” Carr said.
Later that night, Kimmel’s show was pulled indefinitely off the air. The ensuing backlash, however, led to Kimmel returning with a ratings boost early the next week.
