A top Trump communications aide lashed out at late-night host Jimmy Kimmel in an explicit social media post.
Kimmel sparked backlash after joking in a parody White House Correspondents’ Dinner segment that Melania Trump had “a glow like an expectant widow,” a line critics on the right interpreted as inflammatory in the context of the April 25 shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Kimmel made the remark before Saturday’s shooting.
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner has traditionally featured a comedian delivering a lighthearted roast of the president. But at Saturday’s event, that convention was notably absent. Instead of a stand-up comic, the White House Correspondents’ Association selected mentalist and author Oz Pearlman as the evening’s headliner.
Filling that void from afar, Kimmel offered what he framed as the jokes “a comedian might do if our president wasn’t a trembling drama queen,” delivering a roughly nine-minute monologue that took aim at a range of controversies, from Jeffrey Epstein to escalating tensions with Iran.
Kimmel also ventured into more personal territory, joking about the age gap between Donald Trump, 79, and first lady Melania Trump, 56.
“Look at Melania, so beautiful,” said Kimmel in his fake WHCD address. “Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”
But allies of Trump interpreted Kimmel’s remarks as an incitement to violence.
Melania called Kimmel a “coward,” and urged his network ABC to “take a stand” against his “atrocious behavior.”
In his response, Kimmel refused to apologize, insisting the comment was satire about the couple’s age difference and standard political humor, not a reference to violence or assassination.
He also reiterated his long-standing opposition to gun violence and argued that critics were mischaracterizing the intent of the joke.
“It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination,” Kimmel said. “And they know that. I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence, in particular.”
Kimmel added, “But I understand that the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend.... And probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house.”
But White House communications director Steven Cheung wasn’t impressed with Kimmel’s defense.
“Jimmy Kimmel is a s--t human being for: #1. Making a disgusting joke about assassinating the President #2. Doubling down on that joke instead of doing the decent thing by apologizing,” Cheung wrote in a post on X.
“ABC needs to fire him immediately and he should be shunned for the rest of his life.”
Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner was thrown into chaos when gunfire erupted outside the Washington Hilton, prompting an immediate evacuation of Trump, his wife, and several senior administration officials.
Authorities say the suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, attempted to breach a security perimeter while armed with two guns and multiple knives. He was subdued before reaching the main event space.
During the confrontation, a Secret Service agent was struck but was protected by a ballistic vest and did not suffer serious injuries. No other attendees were harmed.
Allen, who officials say has no known party affiliation, now faces multiple federal charges, including assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon and using a firearm in a violent crime.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said, “This individual was intent on doing as much harm and as much damage as he could.”
According to investigators, Allen sent a manifesto to relatives shortly before the incident, in which he adopted the moniker “Cole ‘coldForce’ ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’ Allen” and described plans to target Trump and other top officials. The document reportedly excluded FBI Director Kash Patel, though authorities have not explained why.
