House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries refused to directly criticize Jimmy Kimmel's controversial "expectant widow" joke about Melania Trump, instead using the moment to denounce inflammatory language on both sides of the political aisle.
Speaking with TMZ on Capitol Hill Monday, Jeffries said he hadn't yet heard the late-night host's remark from last Thursday, in which Kimmel referred to the First Lady as an "expectant widow" — a comment made just two days before the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
"I don't know the full context," Jeffries said, when asked about the joke that prompted President Trump and Melania Trump to call for Kimmel's firing. But the Democratic leader didn't shy away from addressing the broader issue of political violence.
"We've seen incendiary comments from the right and the left that have led to real-world violence," Jeffries added. "That's what we need to tone down."
Kimmel has not yet responded publicly, but he was photographed heading into the studio Monday afternoon ahead of his show. It remains to be seen whether he will address the controversy on air.