Jimmy Kimmel regularly infuriates Donald Trump with his sayings.Image: keystone
Donald and Melania Trump are again calling for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to lose his slot after a joke about the US presidential family.
April 28, 2026, 05:16April 28, 2026, 05:33
In his broadcast on Thursday, Kimmel had previously parodied the capital’s press gala with the Trumps two days later, which was overshadowed by an attempted attack. He pretended he was performing at the event in Washington. As Melania faded in, Kimmel said:
«So beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have the glow of an expectant widow.”
One of the recurring jokes on Kimmel’s show is the claim that Melania Trump doesn’t really like the 79-year-old president and is seeking distance from him. He also repeatedly discussed references to Trump’s possible health problems. But after an armed man was stopped at the gala hall on Saturday and shots were fired, the Trumps assumed a different context for Kimmel’s words.
Trump: “Fire him immediately”
Donald Trump spoke on his online service Truth Social of a “despicable call for violence” and demanded that the broadcaster ABC and its owner Disney Kimmel “immediately fire.” Melania Trump wrote on the online platform X that “people like Kimmel” should no longer be allowed to “spread hate” every evening.
There was initially no reaction from Disney and ABC. According to information from CNN, Kimmel recorded the next episode of his show in Los Angeles in the afternoon, which was to be broadcast in the evening.
Broadcast break in September
ABC removed the presenter, who criticizes Trump almost daily, from the station for several days in September after a statement about the killed right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel said at the time that members of Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement were trying to pretend that the alleged attacker was not one of them. It was not an accurate description of the arrestee’s political views. Kimmel later apologized. (sda/dpa)