Kimmel Doubles Down On Melania ‘Expectant Widow’ Insult

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel apologized for his “roast” of First Lady Melania Trump, saying that people misunderstood his joke about her being “an expectant widow.” In his opening monologue of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Monday night, Kimmel refused to accept any responsibility or offer an actual apology.

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

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?”

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.

Kimmel also added he understands the “stress” of being Trump’s first lady.

“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.

“Donald Trump is allowed to say whatever he wants to say, as are you and as am I. 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.

“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.

The suspect charged in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting made his initial appearance in federal court Monday, where he was formally advised of the charges filed by prosecutors.

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.

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.

When he was arrested, the newly unsealed probable cause affidavit revealed that he had a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun and a Rock Island Armory 1911 .38-caliber pistol.

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.