‘CBS Mornings’: Gayle King Speaks Out in Defense of Jimmy Kimmel Amid Trump Attacks

Gayle King and Jimmy Kimmel
CBS Mornings YouTube; Jimmy Kimmel Live! YouTube

What To Know

  • Gayle King defended Jimmy Kimmel, noting that his joke about Melania Trump was not a call for violence against the president.
  • Melania Trump publicly condemned Kimmel’s remarks, calling them hateful and urging ABC to fire him.
  • Kimmel clarified that his comment was a lighthearted roast about the Trumps’ age difference.

CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King has come to the defense of Jimmy Kimmel, saying the late-night host is “not some crazy person who would wish the president to be killed.”

King made the comments on Tuesday (April 28) while speaking with CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Nancy Cordes. During the discussion, Cordes noted that Kimmel’s joke about Melania Trump having “the glow of an expectant widow” was made days before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting on Saturday (April 25).

“Nancy, I’m glad you put it in context that that joke was made before the Correspondents’ Dinner,” King said. “Jimmy Kimmel is not some crazy person who would wish the president to be killed. That’s… he just would not do that.”

Kimmel made the quip during last Thursday’s (April 23) Jimmy Kimmel Live!, where he performed an alternative White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner roast. As he pointed out, the dinner is traditionally hosted by a comedian who pokes fun at the president and luminaries; however, this year’s event was hosted by mentalist Oz Pearlman.

“Our First Lady Melania is here. Look at her, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel joked in the segment.

Following the shooting on Saturday, certain MAGA supporters twisted Kimmel’s words to make it seem like he was mocking the situation or calling for Trump’s assassination.

On Monday (April 27), Melania tweeted, “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. People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.”

She continued, “A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him. Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.”

Kimmel defended his comments on Monday’s show, explaining it was “obviously a joke about their age difference… 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 I’ve been very vocal for many years, speaking out against gun violence in particular,” the late-night host added.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, ABC

CBS Mornings, Weekdays, 7am, CBS




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  1. G

    Green Olive

    Why doesn’t melonio worry about what garbage her husband spews out on a daily basis.

    1. T

      Truth

      Cause she’s not a Worrier like You. And he doesn’t say Green Olive that often.

      1. G

        Green Olive

        WTF???

  2. T

    Tom

    The first amendment. Government cannot compel speech (in layman’s terms). Jimmy can say what he wants and the government cannot censor him. What happens in the private business world is different, however if Disney fires him for this, he has a case. He can claim Disney fired him because of government pressure about his speech, which is a first amendment violation. Doofus and his ilk literally vomit hate with every breath. The first amendment shall have no double standard. If he can say Democrats are the enemy and they’re evil and vile people then Jimmy can make a joke about an Epstein gift and whether or not she’d do a happy dance no longer tethered to her honey-pot.

    All this panty twisting from the group that joked for months about a man being assaulted (Paul Pelosi). From a group that shrugs their shoulders when kids are gunned down. When people die because of their policy. They are heartless and their fake grievances are stale. We’re entering “boy cried wolf” territory here. Only the cult is listening. Only the cult shares these grievances. The rest of us want an affordable world, affordable health care, good jobs, food on the table, and living our best lives with our loved ones. Petty, childish, self-aggrandizing, phony, pearl-clutching, panty-twisting, snowflakery grievances is yesterday’s news…time to grow up and act like an adult and not a petulant temper-tantrum throwing child.

    1. A

      Antonio Montealegre

      Hear, hear!

      1. T

        Truth

        There, There !!

    2. T

      Truth

      Oh you mean like the Democrats are Constantly saying Trump is an existential threat to our Democracy ? They Still don’t understand that we are a Republic with a democratic form of govt. Freedom Of Speech has consequences. If you own a business you can say anything but that doesn’t mean you can’t be boycotted. And do you Really think the network wants to get knee deep in an extremely costly lawsuit when firing JimBo would be much cheaper ? And though Kimmel is pretty wealthy from Trump bashing Not talent I doubt He has that kind of money. Moral of the story if you’re gonna run your mouth on Ntl. TV about the current President you might want to Think it out First. Oh and all those things you want we Sure didn’t have during Biden. Much worse then. And tell your Socialist Leftists Politicians to get out of the social engineering business and on board with Trump’s plan and we can have those things. Stop sending Lib District Fed Judges who Create law instead of Interpreting it which is their Real job. We could ALL enjoy a better standard. We don’t want DEI and not just in our country Dems were spending $Billions on it for foreign countries. And we don’t want you Butchering our kids to change they’re gender. Nor do we want to pay for you’re abortions.Or teach you’re racist CRT to our youth. And we don’t to provide for the Ten Million Plus Illegal Immigrants Biden Allowed in. Thats the known we don’t know how many unknown. Plenty jobs to be had, Stop sucking unearned govt. benefits

  3. M

    mjpavia

    What happened in El paso Texas when Trump said of an invasion of illegals, and an individual from Plano,Texas came to El Paso and murdered 23 people at Wal-Mart. Due to Trumps comments.

  4. T

    Truth

    When they Need it the liberal left cites the Constitution. Funny thing though is quite a few of them have called for Abolishing the Constitution on the grounds it’s archaic and the people who wrote it THEY say are white suprematist. Thats what’s called Hypocrisy. A term most on the left Live daily.And are quick to demonstrate. Of course they’re go to bible was written by Saul Alinsky the great Socialist/Atheist so it’s expected.