President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump demanded in separate social media posts Monday that ABC pull comedian Jimmy Kimmel from the air over a joke recorded two days before Saturday's White House Correspondents' Dinner. On his Thursday show, Kimmel addressed Melania as "so beautiful" before adding: "Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow." The comment preceded a gunman breaching security at the Washington Hilton where the Trumps were inside.

Trump called the joke "really shocking" and "something far beyond the pale," writing: "Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC." Melania called Kimmel "a coward" whose words are "corrosive" and "deepens the political sickness within America." Press secretary Karoline Leavitt also condemned the bit at Monday's briefing, calling such rhetoric "completely deranged."

This marks at least the second time ABC has faced intense political pressure over Kimmel's material. Last September, the network temporarily pulled his show after conservative backlash over his comments regarding the man accused of shooting Charlie Kirk—a decision made amid administration pressure. The latest controversy puts Disney and ABC again at the center of a free speech vs. censorship fight, with significant reputational stakes for the network.