Entertainment

Trumps Demand Kimmel Firing Over Melania Joke

Was Kimmel's 'expectant widow' joke dangerous rhetoric that ABC must answer for or protected satire being weaponized to silence dissent?

Published 2 hours ago

Trumps Demand Kimmel Firing Over Melania Joke

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Above: Jimmy Kimmel on his show on April 23. Image credit: Randy Holmes/Disney/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-Trump narrative

Kimmel's "expectant widow" crack wasn't edgy comedy — it was dangerous rhetoric normalizing political violence days before a real shooting. ABC keeps platforming this kind of poison, and that makes the network complicit. Melania was right to call it out, and ABC needs to answer for why it keeps giving Kimmel a megaphone to spread this kind of hate and seriously consider firing him.

Glenn Beck on X

Cynthia Lummis on X PJ Media

Anti-Trump narrative

Demanding a comedian get fired for a joke is straight out of an authoritarian playbook. The First Amendment exists to protect speech like Kimmel's from political pressure campaigns. The Trumps have spent years attacking judges, journalists and prosecutors, so the sudden concern about hateful rhetoric rings hollow. Using a shooting as cover to silence late-night satire is a power grab, not a principled stand.

Joe Walsh on Substack

Lev Parnas on Substack Daily Kos