Jimmy Kimmel is addressing the ongoing controversy over a recent comment he made that First Lady Melania Trump looks like an “expectant widow.” The president and top Republicans have called for Kimmel to be fired.
In a monologue on Monday night, the late-night host said that his joke, made on an episode days before the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, was being misinterpreted as a call to violence.
Kimmel told his audience today that the comment was about the president and first lady’s age difference.
“It was not, by any stretch…a call to assassination, and they know that I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence,” Kimmel said.
Earlier in the day, alleged Correspondents’ Dinner shooter Cole Tomas Allen appeared in federal court to face three charges.
The 31-year-old has not entered a plea, and more charges are expected in the days ahead.
The Torrance, California, man sent an email to family members describing his plot, listing his alleged targets in the Trump administration “prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” according to court documents.
Investigators are now probing crime scene evidence and Allen’s digital history for clues, officials say.
Allen is expected back in court on Thursday.
Recap: Suspect appears in court after storming White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Welcome to The Independent’s U.S. politics liveblog.
If you’re just joining us, here’s a recap of our top story:
- A gunman attempted to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel on Saturday night, with shots fired before he was apprehended by the Secret Service.
- President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, senior Cabinet officials and hundreds of journalists were in attendance at the event during the attack.
- One Secret Service agent was shot but was protected from serious injury by a bulletproof vest. The agent has since been discharged from the hospital.
- The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old computer programmer from Torrance, California, appeared in federal court for the first time Monday. He’s been hit with three charges, including trying to assassinate the president.
- Allen allegedly called himself a “Friendly Federal Assassin” and had an anti-Trump manifesto, according to court documents.
- Trump called for the dinner to be held in the coming weeks as the White House revisits security protocols surrounding the president.
- As investigations into the shooting continued, King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived to Washington, D.C., on Monday, for a state visit.
Joe Sommerlad, Ariana Baio27 April 2026 08:38
Kimmel’s joke part of campaign that ‘helped legitimize’ violence, White House press secretary says
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Jimmy Kimmel’s joke on Melania and Donald Trump was part of a campaign of rhetoric from Democrats and some in the media that “has helped to legitimize this violence.”
“Who in their right mind says a wife would be glowing over the potential murder of her beloved husband?” Leavitt said. There was no indication that Kimmel was referring to violence.
Her reaction comes after both president and first lady called for ABC to fire Kimmel on Monday after a joke last week in which the late-night comic described the first lady as having “the glow of an expectant widow.”
Stuti Mishra28 April 2026 06:02
ICYMI: Who is Cole Tomas Allen?
The dinner was thrown into chaos after the suspected lone gunman, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, allegedly rushed past security and fired at least one gunshot. The suspected shooter was targeting members of the Trump administration, he wrote in a message to family members before the attack, according to court documents.
Allen, a 31-year-old computer engineer from California, has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president, as well as two weapons charges.
More details in our full story.
Josh Marcus28 April 2026 05:15
Trump slams conspiracy theories after ‘Staged’ trends on social media following Correspondents’ Dinner shooting
The incident unfolded on Saturday night, as the president attended the event for the first time since 2011. Baseless speculation about whether the shooting, which follows two assassination attempts against Trump in 2024, was staged blew up on social media shortly after.
The term “staged” was featured in more than 300,000 posts on X by midday Sunday, according to TweetBinder.
When asked on CBS News’60 Minutes about conspiracy theories swirling around the event, Trump initially said he had not heard about the online speculation.
More details in our full story.
Josh Marcus28 April 2026 05:00
Jimmy Kimmel jokes he’s ‘pro-ballroom’ now
Jimmy Kimmel may be a reluctant supporter of President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project, he joked during his opening monologue on Monday.
“I might be pro-ballroom now, after this,” he said.
He added that if “anything terrible ever happens, at least they can dance” in Trump’s signature project.
Kimmel’s not the only one.
Josh Marcus28 April 2026 04:52
Kimmel claims ‘widow’ joke was about Melania’s age, not assassination
Jimmy Kimmel is now offering a more detailed explanation of his “expectant widow” joke about the first lady, arguing it wasn’t related to violence at all.
The host said the joke, made days before Saturday’s Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, was “a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they’re together,” to laughs from the audience.
“It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am,” Kimmel added. “It was not, by any stretch…a call to assassination, and they know that I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence.”
“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.”
Josh Marcus28 April 2026 04:43
‘A lot’ more charges coming in shooting investigation, Jeanine Pirro says
The trio of current charges against Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen are just the beginning, according to the top Washington prosecutor.
“Make no mistake, this is just the beginning of this indictment, of these charges,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro told Fox News on Monday evening. “The indictment will include a lot more charges. We’ll know a lot more. Right now we have a solid case.”
Allen is currently charged with attempting to assassinate the president, as well as two weapons charges. He has not entered a plea.
Pirro added that the FBI is combing through Allen’s digital history looking for clues.
“There will be nothing that won’t be identified and discovered as it relates to his past actions with this digital footprint that we’re looking to establish right now,” she said.
Josh Marcus28 April 2026 04:40
Kimmel jokes about First Lady statement in opening monologue
Jimmy Kimmel is live on air, and he looks set to address the ongoing controversy about his recent routine.
“Sometimes, you wake up in the morning and the First Lady puts out a statement, demanding you be fired from your job,” Kimmel began. “We’ve all been there, right?”
Josh Marcus28 April 2026 04:39
Republicans now want taxpayers to fund Trump’s $400 million ballroom
“It’s very difficult to have a bunch of important people in the same place unless it’s really, really secure,” Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters on Monday. “The times in which we live are unusual. I’ve been up here for a while now. I’ve never felt the sense of threat that exists today.”
Graham and his GOP colleagues Sen. Eric Schmitt and Sen. Katie Britt are pushing a bill to fund the ballroom and offset costs by using customs and national parks user fees. The proposal includes building new military and Secret Service infrastructure within the ballroom complex.
Graham said the White House supports his effort, despite the president’s frequent claims that he and private donors were personally funding the entire ballroom project. The White House has previously said major tech corporations, including those that do business with the federal government and donated to Trump’s inauguration, have committed millions to funding the ballroom.
More details in our full story.
Josh Marcus28 April 2026 04:34
Political violence ‘worse than it’s ever been’ Bernie says, as Democrats call for committee on attacks
Sen. Bernie Sanders agrees with conservatives who are alarmed with the ongoing spike in political violence in America.
“It’s clearly worse than it’s ever been,” the Vermont senator told CNN on Monday. “The internet, the acrimony, the hatred, it’s unprecedented and it’s very dangerous and it’s tragic.”
His fellow progressive Rep. Ro Khanna has called for a bipartisan committee to study the problem.
Josh Marcus28 April 2026 04:10
