Jimmy Kimmel Scoffs at Melania Trump for Accusing Him of ‘Violent Rhetoric,’ Tells Her, ‘Have a Conversation With Your Husband About It’

Jimmy Kimmel responded to First Lady Melania Trump on Monday, who earlier in the day said the late-night comedian should be off the air over a joke he made last week.

On Thursday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host did a mock roast of President Donald Trump and officials in the administration. At one point, Kimmel got around to cracking about the first lady.

“Our First Lady Melania is here,” he said at the time. “Look at her, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”

Two days later, at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, a gunman was apprehended near a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton, where the president, first lady, other U.S. officials, and members of the press were gathered for the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. The Trumps were quickly whisked away by Secret Service. One law enforcement officer was struck in their bulletproof vest. No one was killed. The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, made his first court appearance on Monday and did not enter a plea.

In a statement on social media, the first lady said Kimmel should be off the airwaves.

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

Shortly after, the president demanded that ABC fire the comedian “immediately.”

On Monday’s show, Kimmel hit back, stating that his joke was not remotely a call to violence and that if the first lady wanted to do something about “violent rhetoric,” she should start in the home:

It was a pretend roast. I said our first lady, Melania’s here. Look at her, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow, which obviously was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together. It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am. It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination. And they know that. I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence, in particular.

But I understand that the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend and probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house. And also, I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do. And I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it, because, by the way, I also should point out Donald Trump is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, as you are you, as am I, as are all of us, because under the First Amendment we have a right, as Americans, to free speech.

But with that said, I am sorry that you and the president and everyone in that room on Saturday went through that. I really am. Just because no one got killed doesn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic. It’s scary. And we should come together and be best. We really should.

Kimmel then teed up a clip of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaking with Fox News before the dinner:

KIMMEL: But if you want us to believe that a joke I made three days before this dinner had any effect on anything that happened, well, then maybe someone should look into this psychic lady, too.

LEAVITT: His speech tonight will be classic Donald J. trump. It’ll be funny. It’ll be entertaining. There will be some shots fired tonight.

KIMMEL: You know what? You know who’s gonna be furious when she hears that? White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is who will be furious.

Watch above via ABC.

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