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From Firing Threats to Epstein Mentions, Here's a Look at the Fraught History Between Trump and Kimmel

Callum Sutherland· ·8 min read · 0 reactions · 0 comments · 1 view
From Firing Threats to Epstein Mentions, Here's a Look at the Fraught History Between Trump and Kimmel

President Donald Trump has again called for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired, this time in relation to a poorly-received "widow" joke.

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TIME · Callum Sutherland
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President Donald Trump has called for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be "immediately fired," marking the latest escalation in their years-long feud.The row is in relation to a skit on Jimmy Kimmel Live! about the White House Correspondents' Dinner, which aired days before this year's offering of the annual event took place.During the bit, Kimmel pretended to be the event's MC and said: “Our First Lady Melania is here. So beautiful, Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”While the quip was filmed and televised before a gunman incident derailed the dinner on Saturday evening, the President has called for the end of Kimmel's show.On Monday, Trump said Kimmel's joke was "really shocking" and referred to it as a "despicable call to violence.""Normally [I] would not be responsive to anything that he [Kimmel] said, but this is something beyond the pale," Trump said via Truth Social. "Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC."The President's statement came shortly after his wife Melania accused Kimmel of "hateful and violent rhetoric" and said it's "time for ABC to take a stand.""His monologue about my family isn’t comedy—his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America. People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate," she argued.But Kimmel vehemently defended himself during his show which aired Monday night and said the sketch had been "a very light roast joke about the fact that he's [President Trump] almost 80 and she's [Melania] younger than I am."Advertisement"It was not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination and they know that. I've been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence, in particular," Kimmel emphasized. "I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it."This is just the latest public fallout to occur between the President and the late-night host. Here's a look at some of the previous instances whereby Trump and Kimmel have shared tense—and public—exchanges.October 2015: Kimmel pokes fun at Trump for cancelling late-night appearance before the pair eventually sit down to speakDuring Trump’s first presidential campaign, the then-Republican candidate was set to appear on Kimmel’s talk show, but cancelled at the last minute, according to the host.“Last night, his people called and cancelled on us. They were a little bit cryptic as to why he cancelled. They said he has a major political commitment, but he did want me to relay the message to you that if he had been here, he would have been great,” Kimmel said. “But don’t worry, tonight we’re going to give everyone in the audience a basketball dipped in cologne so you can fully experience what it would have been like had Donald Trump been here.”AdvertisementTrump appeared on the show two months later, with the two seemingly getting along despite the earlier signs of friction.September 2017: Kimmel hits out at Trump over healthcare in the U.S.Kimmel criticised Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who first coined the “Jimmy Kimmel test” in May 2017 in response to criticisms from the comedian over access to healthcare for those with pre-existing conditions and proposed changes to access by the Trump Administration, such as the Graham-Cassidy bill.Shortly after Kimmel’s remarks, Trump posted: “I would not sign…

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