WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump called on Truth Social for ABC and its parent company Disney to immediately fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after Kimmel made a joke about First Lady Melania Trump in a segment tied to the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

"I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel's despicable call to violence, and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said but, this is something far beyond the pale," Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added: "Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired."

The dispute began after Kimmel addressed the first lady during the segment. "Our first lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow," Kimmel said. In the same segment, he mocked her documentary, saying, "I want to congratulate you, Madam First Lady, on your huge accomplishment – the world's first motionless picture."

Late on Saturday, a shooting occurred when an armed man tried to enter the hall where Trump, the first lady and other White House members were in attendance alongside hundreds of journalists. After the shooting, video of Kimmel's monologue generated outrage from some members of the Republican Party.

Melania Trump publicly criticized the host and urged ABC to take action. "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," she wrote on X. She added: "Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC's leadership enable Kimmel's atrocious behaviour at the expense of our community?"

Kimmel said his remarks were not a call to assassination and described them as "a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am." Trump had described the comments as "a despicable call to violence."

ABC suspended Kimmel last year after the Trump administration threatened to take action against the network over his commentary suggesting that the killer of activist Charlie Kirk may have been a Republican. After a backlash from free speech advocates, the network reinstated him less than a week later.

Kimmel has hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC since 2003. Neither Disney nor ABC responded publicly to the president's demand, and neither Kimmel nor his representatives responded to calls for his termination.