Jimmy Kimmel: White House raises pressure for talk show host to be sacked after Melania Trump joke

The White House has raised the pressure on broadcaster ABC to sack its late-night talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel, after he made a joke about first lady, Melania Trump.

In a post on X on Tuesday morning, US time, White House communications director Steven Cheung used an expletive to describe the comedian, accusing him of making a "disgusting joke" and "doubling down on that joke instead of doing the decent thing by apologising".

He demanded ABC "fire him immediately", adding that Kimmel "should be shunned for the rest of his life".

Just days before a gunman opened fire in Washington, at the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) dinner, Kimmel did the sketch about the event on his programme Jimmy Kimmel Live!, joking that Mrs Trump had a "glow like an expectant widow".

On Monday's show he responded to criticism of his joke by, among others, Melania and Donald Trump, saying it was merely a reference to the couple's age difference.

His response had been viewed more than 2.8 million times on YouTube by early Tuesday evening, UK time.

Mr Trump, posting on Truth Social, led the calls for ABC and its parent company, Disney, to dismiss Kimmel, who was briefly taken off-air last year over comments about the killing of Trump supporter Charlie Kirk.

Mr Trump wrote: "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."

In a post on X, the first lady said Kimmel's "hateful and violent rhetoric" intends to divide the US.

"His monologue about my family isn't comedy - his words are corrosive and deepen the political sickness within America."

She described Kimmel as a "coward", accused him of spreading hate and claimed ABC was protecting him.

"Enough is enough. 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," she wrote.

There has been no comment from ABC, but it poses a test for Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro, who took over last month.

Kimmel agrees with Melania

Kimmel used the opening monologue of his show on Monday to address the Trumps' response.

"It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am," Kimmel said. "It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination."

He then responded to the first lady's comments: "I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something ⁠we should reject.

"I do, and I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it."

The comedian played a clip of a CBS News' "60 Minutes" Sunday interview in which ‌Mr Trump called senior correspondent Norah O'Donnell "a disgrace" for reading an excerpt from the alleged gunman's writings and seeking a response.

What did the sketch actually show?

The sketch depicted Kimmel in a tuxedo, standing behind a podium pretending to deliver a comic routine for the WHCA dinner with "cutaways" to the Trumps.

"Our first lady, Melania, is here. So beautiful. Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow," he joked.

There was no indication Kimmel was referring to violence in the sketch.

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Kimmel chokes up over Charlie Kirk

Kimmel has long targeted Mr Trump in his comedy and is no fan of the president. He came close to tears following the Republican's 2024 election win, describing it as a "terrible night".

His suspension for comments about the assassination of right-wing influencer Kirk in September was met with criticism towards the administration for infringing on freedom of speech, leading to Kimmel's reinstatement five days later.

On his return, Kimmel said it was "never my intention to make light of" Kirk's death, adding that he did not think there was anything funny about it.

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