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Trump urges Disney to fire Kimmel over Melania joke

4/29/2026

43 4 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

White House demanded ABC fire Jimmy Kimmel after his mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner joke about First Lady Melania Trump resurfaced following a shooting at the event.
President Donald Trump called the comment despicable, a call to violence, and urged Disney and ABC to dismiss Kimmel immediately.
Kimmel said the line was a light roast about the Trumps’ age gap, expressed sympathy for victims, and denied any call for assassination.

History

Historical Context

After the 2004 Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show, the FCC logged roughly 540,000 indecency complaints and levied a $550,000 fine against CBS—later voided—prompting the 2005 Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act that raised penalties to $325,000 per violation. President Trump’s 2024 request that ABC drop Jimmy Kimmel mirrors earlier political pushes that have repeatedly tightened broadcast regulation.

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Story summary

White House demanded ABC fire Jimmy Kimmel after his mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner joke about First Lady Melania Trump resurfaced following a shooting at the event.
President Donald Trump called the comment despicable, a call to violence, and urged Disney and ABC to dismiss Kimmel immediately.
Kimmel said the line was a light roast about the Trumps’ age gap, expressed sympathy for victims, and denied any call for assassination.

1 / 2