A senior White House aide has launched a blistering attack on late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, calling him a “s— human being” for a joke about first lady Melania Trump that has drawn condemnation from both her and President Trump.
White House communications director Steven Cheung took to X on Tuesday to demand Kimmel’s dismissal, accusing the comedian of making a “disgusting joke about assassinating the President” and then doubling down instead of apologizing. “ABC needs to fire him immediately and he should be shunned for the rest of his life,” Cheung wrote.
The controversy stems from a skit Kimmel aired last week, in which he said Melania Trump had the “glow” of an “expectant widow.” The comment landed with particular force after an assassination attempt against President Trump at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner two nights later, as Bill O'Reilly also called for Kimmel's removal in the aftermath.
In her own scathing social media post, Melania Trump called for Kimmel to be fired, writing that his monologue about her family “isn’t comedy—his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America.” She added, “People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.”
President Trump echoed that sentiment hours later, posting on Truth Social that Kimmel’s joke was “something far beyond the pale” and urging Disney, ABC’s parent company, to fire the host. The incident has further inflamed tensions between the White House and the media, as GOP infighting over DHS funding has also intensified following the assassination bid.
Kimmel addressed the backlash during his Monday night show, defending the remark as “a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am.” He insisted it was “not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination, and they know that.” The comedian noted his long history of speaking out against gun violence.
The clash underscores the deepening divide between the Trump administration and late-night comedy, with the president and first lady taking the unusual step of personally demanding a network fire a host. The White House has not indicated any further action, but the episode has reignited debate over the boundaries of political satire.
