Trump urges ABC, Disney to fire Jimmy Kimmel after Melania joke

Donald Trump demanded that ABC and the Walt Disney Company immediately fire Jimmy Kimmel after the host joked that first lady Melania Trump “had a glow like an expectant widow.” The president’s call came after Melania Trump had already urged ABC to “take a stand” against Kimmel, calling his remarks “corrosive” and saying they spread hate and deepen “the political sickness within America.”

Kimmel made the joke on Thursday, April 23, 2026, during a parody segment tied to the upcoming White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Four days later, the argument had grown into a national fight over who gets to decide the limits of criticism, satire and broadcast speech. Trump said Kimmel should be fired immediately, while ABC and Disney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The dispute unfolded against the aftermath of a shooting on Saturday, April 25, at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. Trump, the first lady and other top officials were rushed out of the ballroom after a suspect identified as Cole Allen reportedly fired at Secret Service agents, wounding one before being subdued and arrested. The sequence of events gave new force to the White House clash, even though Kimmel’s comment came before the attack.

The episode also revived a broader pattern in Trump’s approach to the media. He has repeatedly called for broadcasters to remove programs he dislikes and has pushed regulators to act against networks he says are unfair to him. The latest dispute lands as an early test for Josh D’Amaro, who took over as Disney chief executive last month.

It also reopens a fight that ABC has already faced once. In September 2025, the network briefly suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! after comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, following a warning from Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr that local broadcasters could face fines or lose their licenses. That earlier standoff, and now the pressure over Kimmel’s joke about Melania Trump, has sharpened the stakes for ABC, Disney and a late-night franchise now caught in a wider struggle over dissenting speech and presidential power.