Trump's Humor at Melania's Expense Resurfaces Amid Kimmel Controversy
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are demanding the dismissal of comedian Jimmy Kimmel following his controversial “expectant widow” joke. However, the president might want to reflect on his own history of humor that has poked fun at his wife.
In a similar vein to Kimmel’s recent remarks, Trump once quipped during a private fundraiser that Melania wouldn’t be particularly upset if he were to pass away. “His wife cried her eyes out when I met her at the hospital that fateful day; I mean, not many wives would react that way to tragedy, I know mine wouldn’t,” he stated in 2019, referencing the 2017 shooting of Rep. Steve Scalise.
Kimmel’s joke, delivered during a mock stand-up routine before the White House Correspondents' Dinner, was intended as a playful jab. “So I thought, why not … do some of the jokes a comedian might do if our president wasn’t a trembling drama queen who’s scared of comedy?” he remarked before delivering his punchline about Melania’s appearance.
“Look at Melania, so beautiful,” Kimmel said. “Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.” This comment ignited backlash from both Trumps following a tragic shooting incident.
In response, Melania Trump took to social media, condemning Kimmel’s words as “hateful and violent rhetoric” that aims to divide the nation. “His monologue about my family isn’t comedy — his words are corrosive and deepen the political sickness within America,” she expressed on X.
Donald Trump echoed his wife’s sentiments in a post on Truth Social, insisting that “Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
This isn’t the first instance where Trump has called for Kimmel’s termination; last year, ABC suspended the comedian for comments regarding a suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
In a further development, FCC Chair Brendan Carr announced an unprecedented early license review of Disney’s eight owned-and-operated ABC stations on Tuesday, signaling potential repercussions for the network amid this ongoing controversy.
