President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on Monday publicly demanded that Jimmy Kimmel be fired by ABC and its parent, the Walt Disney Company, after the late-night comedian aired a mock White House Correspondents' Dinner segment last week that included jokes about the first family.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump criticized the comedy sketch that aired on Thursday during Jimmy Kimmel Live! He described Kimmel's remarks as "a despicable call to violence" and said the comedian "should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC," adding that the segment had gone "far beyond the pale."
During the mock dinner bit, Kimmel presented a staged video in which First Lady Melania Trump and the president's son, Barron, were shown as if sitting in his studio. In that portion of the routine, Kimmel quipped that the first lady had "a glow like an expectant widow."
The president's post came after an unrelated security incident at the actual White House Correspondents' Dinner. On Saturday a gunman attempted to enter the official dinner, an event that occurred days after Kimmel's sketch aired.
First Lady Melania Trump issued a statement on X earlier Monday, calling Kimmel's monologue "corrosive" and asserting it "deepens the political sickness within America." She further claimed that Kimmel "hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him," and urged the network to take action. She said that "people like Kimmel shouldn't have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate" and pressed ABC to "take a stand."
Jimmy Kimmel Live! is broadcast on ABC, which is part of the Disney Entertainment Television division of the Walt Disney Company. The president and first lady's statements explicitly call on the network and its corporate parent to remove Kimmel from the program.
Context note: The article reports public statements and the content of a late-night comedy sketch alongside the timing of an attempted entry at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. It does not include responses from ABC, Disney, or Jimmy Kimmel, nor does it provide additional factual developments beyond the statements and incidents described above.