First Lady Melania Trump urged ABC to take action on Monday after late-night host Jimmy Kimmel made a joke about the first lady becoming a “widow” – just days before President Donald Trump was targeted in a third assassination attempt against him.
During a parody White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner speech on Thursday’s edition of his show, Kimmel joked, “Our First Lady Melania is here. Look at her, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expected widow.”
Days later, after the real White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner was abruptly shut down due to yet another assassination attempt against the president, Kimmel’s speech went viral on social media, where it was criticized by many users.
When you consider that Jimmy Kimmel previously faced little to no consequences after wearing blackface on an ABC show years ago, it seems unlikely he would be fired now over a tasteless joke--even one about the 1st Lady. There’s also the reality that, regardless of how critics view his political shift or tone, Kimmel's speech is protected under the First Amendment. That said, a more strategic response from Trump might be to discourage members of his administration from appearing on ABC unless the network takes action against Kimmel (or even going after Kimmel's sponsors as the Left would do if the situation was reversed). From that perspective, since late-night comedy is so politically biased, there’d be little incentive to continue engaging with it on equal terms.
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