ABC News Silent As White House Calls For Jimmy Kimmel Firing

WASHINGTON — ABC is remaining silent amid calls from the White House for late night show host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired for joking that Melania Trump looked like an “expectant widow” — just days before another would-be assassin tried to kill Donald Trump.

“I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence, and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said but, this is something far beyond the pale,” President Donald Trump said on Monday afternoon. “Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”

Trump’s comments followed a rare statement from his wife, who said on Monday that “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,” the First Lady said. “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 added. “Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.”

The Daily Wire has repeatedly reached out to both ABC and Kimmel’s representatives over the past 24 hours about the White House statements. Neither ABC nor Kimmel’s team has responded to requests for comment.

The network recently announced its decision to pull “The Bachelorette” amid concerns over bachelorette Taylor Frankie Paul and domestic violence videos that surfaced. Years earlier, the network cancelled host Chris Harrison for defending bachelorette contestant Rachael Kirkconnell after photos surfaced of her attending an antebellum-themed party.

Kimmel’s remarks, however, have not appeared to faze the network, despite aggressive condemnation from the White House.

“Who in their right mind says a wife would be glowing over the potential murder of her beloved husband?” questioned Karoline Leavitt from the briefing room podium on Monday afternoon.

(Randy Holmes/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Kimmel, meanwhile, defended his remarks without apologizing, claiming he was joking about the Trumps’ age difference, mocking the Trumps, and even repeating the joke.

“It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am,” he said. “It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination.”

“I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence, in particular,” he said during his stand-up bit. “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.”

Kimmel’s defense prompted a scathing response from Steven Cheung, the White House Director of Communications.

“Jimmy Kimmel is a sh*t human being for: #1. Making a disgusting joke about assassinating the President #2. Doubling down on that joke instead of doing the decent thing by apologizing,” Cheung said.

“ABC needs to fire him immediately and he should be shunned for the rest of his life,” he said.

ABC has still not responded to requests for comment from The Daily Wire.