Trump shooting latest: Jimmy Kimmel breaks silence over Melania ‘widow’ joke after Trump demands he’s fired
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel has defended his controversial joke about Melania Trump, which caused both the first lady and President Donald Trump to call for him to be fired by ABC in the wake of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting.
Kimmel had joked before the event that Melania had a “glow like an expectant widow,” a remark that took on an unfortunate resonance following Saturday’s attack on the black tie press gala.
However, he insisted on his show Monday night that the line was intended as jab at the couple’s age difference and “not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination.”
Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the attack, had appeared in federal court earlier in the day to face three charges: attempting to assassinate the president, transporting a firearm across state lines with intent to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
If ultimately found guilty, he could face life in prison on the first count, and up to 10 years for each of the remaining two offenses.
Allen, 31, did not enter a plea and more charges are expected in the days ahead. He is expected back in court Thursday.
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Recap: Jimmy Kimmel defends himself after Melania joke backlash
Welcome to The Independent’s U.S. politics liveblog.
If you’re just joining us, here’s a recap of our top story:
- Comedian Jimmy Kimmel has defended himself after a joke he made about Melania Trump gained traction following the attack on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
- The late night host had said the first lady had the “glow of an expectant widow,” leading her and President Donald Trump to call on ABC to fire him after the latest assassination attempt against the latter played out on Saturday night.
- In the opening monologue of his show Monday, Kimmel said the remark was a jab at the couple’s age difference, not a call for violence.
- The suspect in the attempted attack on the black tie press gala at the Washington Hilton Hotel, Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old computer programmer from Torrance, California, appeared in federal court for the first time Monday.
- He was 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.
- The president has called for the dinner to be restaged in the coming weeks as the White House revisits security protocols.
- As investigations into the incident continue, King Charles and Queen Camilla are in Washington, D.C., for a state visit.
Jimmy Kimmel claims ‘widow’ joke was about Melania Trump’s age, not assassination
The late night star has insisted his “widow” joke about first lady Melania Trump was not “a call to assassination” after President Donald Trump said he should be “immediately fired” over the remarks.
Kimmel began his program Jimmy Kimmel Live! Monday by describing the joke as a light roast about the couple’s age difference and “not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination.”
Kimmel’s explanation for the joke came after a gunman attempted to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday night.
Days before the incident, Kimmel did a sketch about the dinner where he joked that Melania had a “glow like an expectant widow.”
In Monday’s monologue, Kimmel expressed sympathy with the president and those in attendance at the event who went through the traumatic and scary experience.
Here’s more.
Kimmel defends Melania ‘widow’ joke after Trump called for him to be fired
Kimmel used his monologue on Monday’s show to address his joke about Melania TrumpJoe Sommerlad28 April 2026 09:05Ex-Secret Service agents see security gap after DC dinner attack:
The gunman who tried to storm into the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner exposed gaps that need to be closed to prevent future attacks, former Secret Service agents say.
"The system worked. Could it be much better? Yes," Bobby McDonald, who protected then-presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, told The Independent on Monday. "We had a positive outcome, not a successful one."
Read more:
Ex-Secret Service agents see security gaps after Correspondents’ Dinner attack
‘The system worked. Could it be much better? Yes,’ said Bobby McDonald, who protected then-presidents Bill Clinton and George W. BushStuti Mishra28 April 2026 08:00Who is shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen?
The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner appeared in court Monday, where he was charged with attempting to assassinate the president.
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.
Read more:
What we know about suspected White House Correspondents’ Dinner gunman
California man Cole Tomas Allen faces three charges after he allegedly tried to storm White House Correspondents’ Dinner armed with a shotgun, pistol and knives.Stuti Mishra28 April 2026 07:30'LET THE SHOW GO ON': Trump says White House Correspondents' Dinner will be rescheduled within 30 days
US president Donald Trump has said the White House Correspondents' Dinner will be rescheduled within 30 days after Saturday's event was disrupted by a shooting, the third alleged attempt on his life since taking office.
Mr Trump was attending the annual dinner for the first time as president — having skipped it during his first term — when a suspect believed to be targeting him opened fire at the security barricades at the Washington Hilton before being apprehended.
"I have recommended that we 'LET THE SHOW GO ON' but, will entirely be guided by Law Enforcement," Mr Trump posted on Truth Social. In a separate post, he said he had "spoken with all the representatives in charge of the event, and we will be rescheduling within 30 days."
Speaking to reporters later that evening, some still in their dinner attire, Mr Trump insisted: "We're going to do it again. We're not going to let anybody take over our society. We're not going to cancel things out."
"I don't want to have a crazy person be able to cancel something like this," he told CBS's 60 Minutes on Sunday.
All the charges against Cole Allen, suspect in White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, has been slapped with three charges following the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday, the Department of Justice said.
The first and most serious charge is an attempt to assassinate the president of the United States, which carries a potential sentence of up to life in federal prison. He also faces a charge of transporting a firearm across state lines with intent to commit a felony, and a third charge of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence — each carrying up to 10 years in prison.
Allen's next court appearance is a detention hearing on Thursday which will determine whether he remains in custody until trial.
Stuti Mishra28 April 2026 06:38Kimmel'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."
ICYMI: Who is Cole Tomas Allen?
The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner appeared in court Monday, where he was charged with attempting to assassinate the president.
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.
President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and other members of the administration were taken from the Washington Hilton’s ballroom as guests scrambled for cover during the shocking incident. The suspect rushed security guards and opened fire, hitting a Secret Service agent. He was quickly subdued by officers and taken into custody.
No guests at the dinner were hurt. The event was subsequently canceled.
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.
What we know about suspected White House Correspondents’ Dinner gunman
California man Cole Tomas Allen faces three charges after he allegedly tried to storm White House Correspondents’ Dinner armed with a shotgun, pistol and knives.Josh Marcus28 April 2026 05:15Trump slams conspiracy theories after ‘Staged’ trends on social media following Correspondents’ Dinner shooting
Donald Trump has branded those who believe the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was staged as “sick.”
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.
Trump slams conspiracies after ‘Staged’ trends on social media following DC shooting
President Trump said that conspiracy theorists speculating about Saturday’s shooting are ‘more sick than they are con people’Josh Marcus28 April 2026 05:00Jimmy 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.
GOP now wants taxpayers to fund $400M Trump ballroom despite promise it would be free
Republicans have outlined multiple proposals to advance President Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom project, some of which call for taxpayer fundingJosh Marcus28 April 2026 04:52NewerOlderJoin our commenting forum
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