President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have called on ABC television network to take action against comedian Jimmy Kimmel for jokes targeting her, as the debate over free speech, polarizing rhetoric and political violence intensifies in the United States.
Melania Trump on Monday accused the host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! of deepening “the political sickness within America” with his comedy, two days after gunfire erupted outside the White House correspondents' dinner, which the Trumps attended. “People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate. A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him,” she wrote on X.
President Trump called for the comedian's firing. “Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC,” Trump wrote in a social media post. It is highly unusual for the president and first lady to call on a network to deplatform a comedian, as the First Amendment bans government censorship.
The shooting late on Saturday happened when a gunman tried to enter the hall where the Trumps and top officials were in attendance. A video of Kimmel mocking Melania Trump sparked outrage among Republicans. At an “alternative” correspondents' dinner on his show, Kimmel said: “Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”
President Trump described the joke as a “despicable call to violence”. Kimmel also mocked the first lady's documentary, Melania, which faltered at the box office. Last year, ABC suspended Kimmel after the Trump administration threatened action, but reinstated him after a backlash from free speech advocates.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt blamed “deranged lies and smears against the president” for political violence targeting Trump. Republicans have long decried speech regulations, but Trump has led efforts to punish criticism of Israel. Saturday's shooting was the third apparent assassination attempt against Trump since 2024, sparking calls to soften political language.
Source: www.aljazeera.com