Jimmy Kimmel has refused to apologise for a joke made days before the White House correspondents' dinner shooting in which he described Melania Trump as glowing 'like an expectant widow', after both Donald Trump and the first lady accused him of inciting violence.
On Monday Melania Trump accused Kimmel of 'hateful and violent rhetoric' and 'atrocious behavior', and said it was 'time for ABC to take a stand' against the comedian. Donald Trump also called for Kimmel to be fired by Disney and ABC in a Truth Social post.
During his Monday night monologue, Kimmel responded by pointing out the joke was made three days before the alleged assassination attempt. 'Obviously, it was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together,' he said. 'It was not – by any stretch of the definition – a call to assassination.'
Kimmel added: 'I understand that the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend... I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do, and I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it.'
The Trumps' call for Kimmel's ouster comes as critics highlight violent rhetoric from the White House, including when Trump called on a crowd to 'knock the crap out' of protesters and urged supporters to 'fight like hell' after his 2020 election defeat.
