Jimmy Kimmel says the ‘expecting widow’ to shame the Trumps was about the age difference

ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel remained defiant Monday night, insisting his now-offensive “widow-in-waiting” joke about President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump was about their age.

“This was on Thursday, and there wasn’t much reaction to it until this morning, when I greeted the day with another cleaning storm on Twitter,” Kimmel said during a monologue. “I said our First Lady, Melania, here she is. Look at her. She’s so beautiful. This is from the glory. As an expected widow, which was obviously a joke about their age difference and the joy we see on her face every time they are together.”

“It was a very light-hearted joke about the fact that he’s almost 80, and younger than me. It wasn’t, by any stretch of the imagination, a kill call — and they know that,” he continued. “I’ve been very vocal over the years speaking out against gun violence in particular, but I understand that the First Lady had a very stressful experience over the weekend, and almost every weekend is very stressful in that house.”

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“And again, I agree that hate speech and violence is something we should reject. I do, and I think a good place to start dialing that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it,” Kimmel later told the first lady. “Donald Trump is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, like you, like me, like all of us. Because under the First Amendment, as Americans we have the right to free speech. But with that said, I’m sorry that you and the president and everybody in that room on Saturday went through that. I really am. Just because no one was killed doesn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic and terrifying. We have to come together to be better.”

Notably, celebrity psychic Oz Pearlman, the entertainment director who was scheduled to perform at the WHCA Dinner until the evening’s attack, pulled out of his appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and was replaced at the last minute by liberal “Pod Save America” ​​host Jon Lovett.

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Celebrity psychic Oz Pearlman is out on his “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to be seen on Monday. (Photo by Taylor Hill/WireImage)

Kimmel’s joke from Thursday went viral on social media after Saturday’s attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) Dinner targeting Trump and senior Cabinet officials.

Both President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have issued statements calling for Kimmel’s firing from the Disney-owned network.

“Kimmel’s hateful and violent speech is meant to divide our country. His monologue about my family is not funny – his words hurt and deepen the political sickness in America,” he wrote in X.

“People like Kimmel should not have the opportunity to enter our homes every evening to spread hate. Coward, Kimmel is hiding behind ABC because he knows the network will continue to work to protect him. Enough,” said the first lady. “It’s time for ABC to stand up. How many times has ABC leadership allowed Kimmel to commit atrocities that harm our community.”

FORMER OBAMA AIDE TAKES KIMMEL TO REMEMBER ‘HIGHLY’ JOKE BEFORE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT.

Both First Lady Melania Trump and President Donald Trump called on ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel after his “widow” went berserk two days before the assassination attempt on him on Saturday. (Mandel Ngan/AFP)

The president later followed suit, saying in part Monday on Truth Social, “I appreciate that a lot of people are offended by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence, and normally wouldn’t respond to anything he says but, this is beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be fired immediately by Disney and ABC.”

Last year, Kimmel was there it was briefly stopped by Disneyafter the controversial statements about the killing of Charlie Kirk sparked outrage and a veiled threat was made by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He returned to the air days later and insisted that he never intended to facilitate Kirk’s death.

In December, ABC extended his contract until at least May 2027.

Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, the 31-year-old accused of targeting senior Trump administration officials, is facing three charges, including attempting to kill the president of the United States, transporting a firearm across state lines, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Senior DOJ officials said Monday that more charges are expected, and that he faces up to life in prison.

Neither ABC nor parent company Disney responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

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