Jimmy Kimmel lectures Melania Trump, repeats ‘expecting widow’ joke she made about ‘age difference’

ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel on Monday repeated a joke he made last week, saying first lady Melania Trump looks like a “pregnant widow.” Kimmel defended himself after Mrs. Trump and President Donald Trump called for Disney to be fired following the assassination attempt on the president’s life at the White House correspondents dinner.

“There was no major reaction to it until this morning, when I faced another Twitter vomit storm and we had calls to fire our first lady,” Kimmel said during his inauguration speech on Monday. He said the joke was about Melania Trump’s “age difference and the look of joy on her face” whenever she and Trump are together.

Kimmel’s ten-minute monologue aired just days before Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was charged through a metal detector and fired at a Secret Service agent before being pinned to the ground and taken into custody.

First Lady Melania Trump issued her own response to Kimmel’s comments, writing: “Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is aimed at dividing our country. His monologue about my family is not comedy – his words are corrosive and deepen the political sickness within America.” He further said, “People like Kimmel should not have the opportunity to enter our homes every evening to spread hate,” adding, “Enough is enough. It’s time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.”

President Trump said in his own statement, “I appreciate that many people are outraged by Kimmel’s disgusting calls for violence, and would normally not respond to anything he said, but, this is too far. Jimmy Kimmel should be fired immediately by Disney and ABC. Thank you for bringing attention to this matter! President Donald J. Trump.”

Kamala Harris donor Allen was accused of attempting to assassinate President Trump on Monday and is expected to face multiple federal charges.