After WH shooting, admin confronts Kimmel over 'expectant widow' joke about First Lady

Two days before a gunman stormed the April 25 White House Correspondents' Dinner (WHCD) in an alleged attempt to assassinate President Donald Trump, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel called First Lady Melania Trump "an expectant widow" during a mock alternative version of the event on ABC.

The White House, the First Lady, and the President himself all called on ABC to take action against the comedian.

The monologue

Kimmel's segment, titled "Jimmy Kimmel Roasts Trump & His MAGA Minions at Our Alternative White House Correspondents' Dinner," aired April 23 on ABC. 

The monologue included several pointed jokes targeting Melania Trump specifically, the most controversial of which was Kimmel calling her an “expectant widow.” 

"Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow," he said. "You know, Melania's birthday is on Sunday. She's planning to celebrate at home the same way she always does: looking out a window and whispering, 'What have I done?'"

Kimmel also made a joke about widespread rumors about the Trumps’ ties to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

"And before we go any further… ‘Melania, this is Donald. Donald, this is Melania.’ That was my impression of Jeffrey Epstein. Pretty good, right?" Kimmel said – a reference to longstanding speculation about whether Epstein played a role in introducing the two. 

Melania Trump has publicly denied that Epstein introduced her to her husband.

>> Melania Trump denies Epstein ties, calls on Congress to hear from survivors << 

Leavitt addresses Kimmel 

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the joke at the top of her April 27 briefing, held in the wake of the attempted assassination on Trump at the WHCD.

>> Trump evacuated after shooting at White House correspondents’ dinner, suspect in custody << 

"ABC's late-night host Jimmy Kimmel disgustingly called First Lady Melania Trump an 'expectant widow,'" Leavitt said. "Who in their right mind says a wife would be glowing over the potential murder of her beloved husband? And having experienced what I did with the First Lady on Saturday night, I can tell you that she was anything but that."

"This kind of rhetoric about the President, the First Lady, and his supporters is completely deranged,” she said, “and it's unbelievable that the American people are consuming it night after night after night."

Leavitt called for the rhetoric to be “toned down” and gave examples of what she said was Democratic rhetoric fueling political violence. 

Melania Trump speaks out 

The same day, the First Lady posted a lengthy statement on X calling on ABC to act.

"Kimmel's hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country," she wrote. "His monologue about my family isn't comedy — his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America. People like Kimmel shouldn't have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate."

The First Lady called Kimmel "a coward" who "hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him."

"Enough is enough," she wrote. "It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC's leadership enable Kimmel's atrocious behavior at the expense of our community?"

Trump separately called for Kimmel to be "immediately fired by Disney and ABC" in a post on Truth Social. 

Trump called the joke "a despicable call to violence" and said it was "something far beyond the pale."

This is not the first time Kimmel has faced backlash for his political segments. In September 2025, ABC suspended “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely after he drew sharp criticism for his on-air comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.