The federal government is cracking down on ABC’s broadcast licenses in direct response to Jimmy Kimmel’s latest vile comments, this time on First Lady Melania Trump.
The FCC, under Trump appointee Brendan Carr, is directing eight Disney-owned TV stations to file early license renewals tied explicitly to Kimmel’s “expectant widow” monologue that he may have gotten away with had an assassination attempt against Trump not occurred on the same day.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung was forthright In a post on X, declaring “Jimmy Kimmel is a shit human being for: Making a disgusting joke about assassinating the President. Doubling down on that joke instead of doing the decent thing by apologizing. ABC needs to fire him immediately and he should be shunned for the rest of his life.”
Jimmy Kimmel is a shit human being for:
— Steven Cheung (@StevenCheung47) April 28, 2026
#1. Making a disgusting joke about assassinating the President
#2. Doubling down on that joke instead of doing the decent thing by apologizing
ABC needs to fire him immediately and he should be shunned for the rest of his life. https://t.co/utaB6gQFyb
The controversy erupted after Kimmel, during a skit on his show last Thursday portraying himself as master of ceremonies for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, told Melania Trump: “Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”
Jimmy Kimmel made an assassination joke about President Trump.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 26, 2026
Hours later, there was an assassination attempt on Trump's life.
The US taxpayers paid for this sick joke.
Here's how, and why it must END…
ABC holds taxpayer-funded broadcast licenses with the explicit legal… pic.twitter.com/xuZoiJcSlT
Hours later, an assassination attempt targeted President Trump at the actual dinner on Saturday. Kimmel has a documented history of inflammatory rhetoric that critics say normalizes violence against the president and his family.
Kimmel went on the defensive Monday night, claiming it was all just a harmless roast. He insisted: “It was obviously… a joke about their age difference. It was a very light roast joke about the fact that he’s almost 80 and she’s younger than I am. It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination, and they know that.”
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump immediately called for ABC to fire him. Melania demanded the network “take a stand” against the host.
Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is intended to divide our country. His monologue about my family isn’t comedy- his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America.
— First Lady Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 27, 2026
People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to…
This isn’t Kimmel’s first brush with consequences for crossing the line. He was briefly suspended last September after comments following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, where he faced backlash for downplaying or twisting the narrative around the murder.
Scott Jennings blasted the host’s return to air as “pathetic” after Kimmel fake-cried about the incident.
Kimmel recently arrogantly declared to critics: “My job isn’t to be funny, it’s whatever I decide it is.”
Kennel has made sick claims that President Trump “wants to kill Americans,” And has asserted that Trump was “pretending there’s chaos for a military takeover.”
Benny Johnson highlighted Kimmel’s broader track record in a post on X, noting additional examples of his extremism: a skit joking about Trump getting killed in jail, cheering the torching of Teslas because he hates Elon Musk, and falsely claiming Charlie Kirk’s assassin was a member of MAGA.
CBS News' Gayle King RUNS COVER for Trump-Deranged Maniac Jimmy Kimmel
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) April 28, 2026
"Jimmy Kimmel is not some crazy person who would wish the president to be killed. He just would not do that."
Wrong. In addition to his "expectant widow" joke about Melania Trump, Kimmel:
– Did a skit about… pic.twitter.com/Jbg8SIjfsO
ABC holds taxpayer-funded broadcast licenses with the legal duty to serve the public interest. Kimmel’s monologue, Johnson argued, crossed into “vicious, dehumanizing propaganda” that fuels radicalized leftist violence.
Nick Sortor reported on the FCC’s move Tuesday, noting Kimmel appeared “spooked” on air and rushed to make excuses. “This guy needs to be tossed off the air,” Sortor posted alongside video of the host’s defensive monologue.
? JUST IN: The FCC is preparing to CHALLENGE the licenses of ABC affiliates following Jimmy Kimmel calling First Lady Melania Trump an "expectant widow"
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 28, 2026
The review will begin as early as this afternoon.
Kimmel seemed SPOOKED last night over this, going on defense and making up… pic.twitter.com/gL9AYRxAYw
Will This Finally End Kimmel’s Run?
Kimmel’s defenders in the legacy media, like Gayle King, continue to gaslight the public by pretending his words carry no weight. But the pattern is unmistakable: repeated dehumanizing attacks on Trump, his family, and his supporters—rhetoric that coincides with real-world violence, from assassination attempts to the murder of Charlie Kirk.
ABC and Disney have shielded Kimmel for years despite advertiser boycotts, plunging ratings, and public outrage. The FCC’s license review changes the game. Broadcasters using public airwaves have obligations—and turning those airwaves into a platform for incitement no longer comes without consequences.
The Trump administration is holding the line. No more free passes for propaganda disguised as comedy. If ABC refuses to act, the federal review will force the issue.
This time, Kimmel may finally face the permanent exit he has long deserved. The public has had enough of his brand of “humor.”
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