Late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel on Monday defended a joke he made about US First Lady Melania Trump, saying it had been 'misconstrued' and was not a 'call to assassinate' the US President.

'It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am,' Kimmel said in his opening monologue. 'It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination.'

Kimmel's comments came after US President Donald Trump, for the second time, called on ABC and its parent company Walt Disney to fire him for allegedly inciting violence.

Days before a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, Kimmel quipped about Melania having 'a glow like an expectant widow.'

Melania Trump posted on X: 'People like Kimmel shouldn't have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.' Trump echoed this on Truth Social, calling the joke a 'despicable call to violence.'

Kimmel responded: 'I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it.'

This is not the first time Trump has clashed with show hosts. He has repeatedly urged broadcasters to drop critical programs and pressed regulators to revoke licenses.

In September, the FCC head pressured broadcasters to take Kimmel off the air. In November, Trump suggested revoking ABC stations' licenses over a correspondent's question about Saudi Arabia's crown prince.

Source: www.dw.com