Jimmy Kimmel reacts to Trump's surprise call after Melania joke

Jimmy Kimmel, Late-night host, has reacted to a call from White House after his viral joke about the First Laday.

The TV presenter defended his joke in which he allegedly called Melania Trump an "expectant widow" just days before a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Three days later, a terror incident occurred as a gunman opened fire at the gathering in Washington DC, which Donald Trump attended with Melania. The attack may have targeted members of the Trump administration, according to the authorities.

"Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow," Kimmel said during the Thursday night sketch.

The White House urged his network, ABC, to fire the comedian after the remarks.

Delivering his first monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live! after the shooting, the comedian said the joke was "a very light roast joke about the fact that he's [President Trump] 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, I've been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence in particular," he added.

"I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject," he continued.

On Monday, Melania wrote in a post on X that "people like Kimmel shouldn't have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate".

"His monologue about my family isn't comedy - his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America... How many times will ABC's leadership enable Kimmel's atrocious behavior at the expense of our community."

Trump also said he appreciated that so many people were "incensed by Kimmel's" remarks, claiming they were a "call to violence", in a post on Truth Social on Monday afternoon.

"[T]his is something far beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC," he added.