As the debate over free speech, polarizing rhetoric and political violence grows in the United States, President Donald Trump, along with his wife Melania Trump, called on ABC Television to take action against comedian Jimmy Kimmel for a joke targeting her.
Melania Trump on Monday slammed host Jimmy Kimmel Live! Two days after a gunfight broke out outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner attended by President Trump and her husband, she used her comedy to address the worsening “political ills in America.”
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“People like Kimmel should not have the opportunity to enter our homes every night to spread hate. Kimmel is a coward and hides behind ABC because he knows ABC will continue to operate in hiding to protect himself,” the first lady wrote to X.
“Enough is enough. It’s time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s brutal acts at the expense of our community?”
Meanwhile, President Trump called for the comedian’s firing. “Jimmy Kimmel should be fired by Disney and ABC immediately,” President Trump said in a social media post, referring to ABC’s parent company.
It is highly unusual for a president and his wife to ask a television network to deplatform a comedian. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits government censorship of speech.
The shooting late Saturday occurred as a gunman tried to enter a hall where the Trumps and senior administration officials were in attendance. Later, a video of Kimmel mocking Melania Trump was released, sparking outrage from some members of the president’s Republican Party.
At the “Alternative” White House Correspondents Dinner on his show Thursday, Kimmel said, “Our first lady, First Lady Melania, is here. Look at First Lady Melania, she’s so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have the glow of a pregnant widow.”
The joke was based on the recognition that the first lady often appears moody in public, but Trump’s supporters linked the comment to the shooting.
President Trump described it as a “despicable call to violence.”
Kimmel also mocked the first lady’s documentary. Melania did not perform well at the box office and was unpopular. by critics.
“Mrs. First Lady, I would like to congratulate you on your great accomplishment: the world’s first static photograph,” Kimmel said.
ABC suspended Mr. Kimmel last year after the Trump administration threatened to take action against the station over comments by the comedian suggesting that a Republican may have been responsible for the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said at the time.
“These companies can find a way to change their behavior to take action against Kimmel, or the FCC will have additional work to do down the road,” he said.
After backlash from free speech advocates, ABC reinstated Kimmel less than a week later.
The White House slammed Kimmel on Monday, echoing President Trump’s criticism.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told reporters: “Just two days before the shooting, ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel made a hateful phone call to his soon-to-be widow, First Lady Melania Trump. He said he believed she was sane and worried that her beloved husband might be murdered.”
Levitt denounced the political violence targeting Trump as “insane lies and slander against the president.”
Republicans have long criticized speech restrictions, particularly around the coronavirus pandemic, and denounced “cancel culture,” an effort to deplatform or fire people for their political views.
But since returning to the White House last January, Trump has waged a deportation campaign against noncitizens (including lawful permanent residents) involved in advocacy for Palestinian rights and led efforts to punish critics of Israel.
Saturday’s shooting was the third apparent assassination attempt on President Trump since 2024. The incident sparked calls for a softening of political rhetoric to address the motives behind political violence.
But Trump himself has a long history of making harsh statements. Last week, the president shared a post calling for the assassination of Iranian officials who have rejected a deal with the United States.
Earlier this month, he threatened to destroy Iran’s “civilization.”
