Jimmy Kimmel has clapped back at President Donald Trump’s low-ratings diss, saying that if that were the case, then they should both be unemployed.
During Thursday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! opening monologue, the late-night host, 58, fired back at Donald’s latest retort, demanding to know when ABC plans to take action against Kimmel over his recent “widow” joke about First Lady Melania Trump.
“When is ABC Fake News Network firing seriously unfunny Jimmy Kimmel, who incompetently presides over one of the Lowest Rated shows on Television? People are angry. It better be soon!!!” Donald wrote Thursday morning on Truth Social.
Responding to the president’s jab later that night, the comedian said: “Or what?
“If incompetently presiding over not just one of but the lowest rating in history is the reason I should be fired, then we should both be out of a job!” he quipped.
“You’re not doing too good either!” Kimmel said, referencing a recent headline about Trump’s approval rating slipping to a “record low [for his] current term.”
The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
Kimmel has become the latest target of Donald’s fury after he joked that Melania had the glow of an “expectant widow” earlier this month. Days later, a gunman opened fire at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner and was apprehended at the scene. Attorney General Todd Blanche has said that investigators believe the suspected shooter, Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was targeting members of the Trump administration.
In light of the incident, the Trumps have lashed out at Kimmel over the joke about Melania, despite it being delivered days earlier.
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country,” Melania wrote Monday on X. “His monologue about my family isn’t comedy — his words are corrosive and deepen the political sickness within America.
“People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate. A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him.
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“Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.”
Kimmel later defended his divisive joke during Monday night’s episode, describing it as a light roast about the couple’s age difference and “not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination.”
But the falling out from the joke has extended beyond social media. The National Religious Broadcasters association filed a complaint with the FCC, saying Kimmel’s remarks “when viewed in context, raise concerns about the normalization and potential incitement of political violence.” The NRB also requested a “full and impartial investigation to determine whether federal law or Commission precedent was violated.”
The FCC then told ABC that it must apply to renew its broadcast licenses by May 28. The licenses were not due to expire until 2028. A filing indicated that the early renewal request is related to a previous investigation into the company’s DEI practices.
