Jimmy Kimmel spent Tuesday night doing what Donald Trump had spent Monday demanding he be fired for: making a joke about the president's age.
The setup arrived when Kimmel played a clip from Trump's welcoming speech for King Charles III and Queen Camilla, who visited Washington, D.C. this week. In it, Trump reflected on his parents' 63-year marriage, then turned to Melania and said, "That's a record we won't be able to match, darling. I'm sorry. Just not going to work out that way."
Kimmel stared into the camera.
"Wait a minute. Did he just make a joke about his death? My god. You should be fired for that," Kimmel said. "Only Donald Trump would demand I be fired for making a joke about his old age and then a day later go out and make a joke about his own old age."
The exchange traces back to last Thursday, when Kimmel delivered what he called an "alternative" monologue to the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Using archival reaction shots of the president, the first lady and others, Kimmel quipped: "Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow."
The joke landed differently after an apparent assassination attempt targeting Trump on Saturday night. The president, Melania, and White House Press Secretary all responded with sharp criticism. Trump called the joke a "call to violence" and said it was "far beyond the pale."
On Monday, Kimmel defended himself, describing the line as "a very light roast joke about the fact that he's almost 80 and she's younger than I am." He added that it was "not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination," and pointed to his record as a vocal opponent of gun violence.
By Tuesday, the monologue had moved on to additional targets. Kimmel addressed the new indictment of former FBI director James Comey, who was charged in connection with a photograph of seashells arranged to spell "86-47." Kimmel described the image as "a piece of art your aunt with a beach house would buy on Etsy," and noted that "86" is a restaurant industry term meaning to remove or discard something. He argued that interpreting the image as a threat was an embarrassment to the administration bringing the charge.
Kimmel capped the segment by noting that the Trump administration "just doesn't like people named Jim."
Trump, 79, and Melania, 56, attended the Charles and Camilla reception in Washington. The king and queen's U.S. visit provided Kimmel both his opening clip and the occasion to revisit the week's running dispute with the White House.
