The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ordered an early review of the licenses of eight ABC-owned television stations. The network is owned by The Walt Disney Company.
The move raises the possibility that the FCC could seek to revoke the stations’ licenses to use public broadcasting.
The controversy began after a monologue by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, whose show airs on ABC. In a satirical segment before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Kimmel joked that first lady Melania Trump was “glowing like a widow-to-be.”
Kimmel mentioned the first lady during his monologue, saying, “Here’s our first lady Melania. Look at Melania, she’s so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you’re glowing as a widow-to-be.”
This note was broadcast several days before the shooting. However, the situation took a dramatic turn after an assassination attempt led to President Donald Trump and the first lady being quickly escorted from the dinner.
The White House calls for action
On Monday (April 27), the chairman a The first lady publicly called on ABC to fire Kimmelwhich means a significant escalation of tension between the administration and the media.
Trump wants Kimmel out of ABC
Trump called for Kimmel’s termination in a Truth Social post that was later shared by official White House channels.
“I appreciate that so many people are outraged by Kimmel’s vile call to violence and would not normally respond to anything he said, but this is something that is way beyond the pale,” Trump wrote.
“Jimmy Kimmel should be fired immediately by Disney and ABC.”
Melania Trump criticizes Kimmel
Earlier, Melania Trump posted on X (formerly Twitter) condemning Kimmel’s comments, accusing him of fomenting division.
“Kimmel’s hateful and violent rhetoric is meant to divide our country,” she wrote.
“His monologue about my family is not comedy – his words are scathing and deepen the political sickness in America.”
She also called on broadcasters to take action: “Kimmel, the coward, is hiding behind ABC because he knows the network will continue to cover up to protect him.”
“Enough is enough. It’s time for ABC to take a stand. How many times has ABC management allowed Kimmel’s horrible behavior at the expense of our community.”
White House communications director Steven Cheung slammed the comedian, accusing him of “making a disgusting joke about assassinating the president” and “doubling down on that joke instead of doing the decent thing by apologizing,” in a post on X.
Kimmel responds on air
During his Monday night monologue, Kimmel defended his remarks: “It was obviously a joke about their age difference.
He rejected interpretations that the comment referred to violence: “It was not a call to murder to any extent.
Kimmel noted that Trump should be 80 in June, while Melania Trump recently turned 56, calling the joke a comment on their age difference rather than something more sinister.
