President Donald Trump on Monday called for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be "immediately fired" from ABC, escalating a feud over a joke Kimmel made about First Lady Melania Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump described Kimmel as "in no way funny" and said his show has "terrible Television Ratings." The president took particular issue with a parody video Kimmel aired that showed Melania and Barron Trump, accompanied by the line: "Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow."
Trump argued that the joke took on a darker meaning after an armed suspect allegedly attempted to storm the actual White House Correspondents' Dinner just two days later. "A day later a lunatic tried entering the ballroom of the White House Correspondents Dinner, loaded up with a shotgun, handgun, and many knives," Trump wrote. "He was there for a very obvious and sinister reason."
The president's demand follows similar calls from Melania Trump and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who have accused Kimmel of promoting "hateful and violent rhetoric."
ABC has not publicly responded to Trump's call for Kimmel's firing.