Kimmel admitted to being under scrutiny from President Donald Trump, this time because he made a joke about the first lady being a “widow” a few days before the U.S. Secret Service stopped a potential assassin outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night.
“You know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and the first lady puts out a statement demanding you be fired from your job?” Kimmel’s monologue began. “We’ve all been there, right?” Advertisement Kimmel then continued to criticize the first lady, doubling down on political rhetoric after President Trump’s warnings.
“Obviously, it was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together,” he said, adding that “they know that” was not a joke about “assassination” but Trump dying of old age. Advertisement Kimmel also added he understands the “stress” of being Trump’s first lady.
“You know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and the first lady puts out a statement demanding you be fired from your job?” Kimmel’s monologue began. “We’ve all been there, right?” Advertisement Kimmel then continued to criticize the first lady, doubling down on political rhetoric after President Trump’s warnings
“But I understand that the first lady had a stressful experience over the weekend, and probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house,” he continued. “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.
Because under the First Amendment, we have, as Americans, a right to free speech,” he added.
Kimmel apologized to the media affected by the assassination attempt, saying he was “sorry” for everyone at the dinner.
“Donald Trump is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, as are you and as am I
“Just because no one got killed doesn’t mean it wasn’t traumatic and scary, and we should come together,” he said. “We really should. But, if you want us to believe that a joke I made three days before this dinner had any effect on anything that happened, well then, maybe someone should look into this psychic lady too.”
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump both issued statements calling for Kimmel’s firing following the attempted attack.
Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, is accused of entering the Washington Hilton while armed with multiple weapons and attempting to reach the ballroom where President Trump was attending the dinner alongside Cabinet officials and journalists Saturday night.
WATCH
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Allen appeared in court wearing a blue jail uniform and faces charges including attempted assassination of the President of the United States, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, and transporting a firearm across state lines.
Shortly before the alleged attack, authorities said Allen sent a written manifesto to members of his family describing an intent to target President Trump and other Cabinet officials.
In his manifesto, Allen sharply criticized Trump, falsely accusing him of being a “rapist” and “pedophile,” while also announcing he wanted to target several members of the president’s administration.
