Author Stephen King responded to President Trump’s calls to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, saying he shouldn’t “throw shit.”
The author issued his critique of the president on his X account Monday, recalling the time when Trump expressed joy over the death of Robert Mueller and when he mocked director Rob Reiner after his son allegedly murdered him.
“Melania Trump says Jimmy Kimmel should be canceled. Last week her husband commented on Robert Mueller’s death: ‘Good. I’m glad he’s dead.’ Said Pretty much the same about my old friend Rob Reiner. People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw shit,” said King.
Following Robert Mueller’s death, the president said on his Truth Social account, “Good, I’m glad he’s dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!” Following Rob Reiner’s alleged murder, the president said on his Truth Social that he reportedly died “due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.”
On Monday, both the president and the first lady called on ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel after he joked about Trump’s death during a mock White House Correspondents Dinner, referring to Melania Trump as an “expectant widow.”
“Jimmy Kimmel, who is in no way funny as attested to by his terrible Television Ratings, made a statement on his Show that is really shocking,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “He showed a fake video of the First Lady, Melania, and our son, Barron, like they were actually sitting in his studio, listening to him speak, which they weren’t, and never would be. He then stated, ‘Our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at Melania, so beautiful. Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.’ A day later, a lunatic tried entering the ballroom of the White House Correspondents Dinner, loaded up with a shotgun, handgun, and many knives. He was there for a very obvious and sinister reason. I appreciate that so many people are incensed by Kimmel’s despicable call to violence… Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.”
Kimmel later said he meant it to be a “light roast joke.”
“It was 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,” Kimmel said. “I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence, in particular. But I understand that the First Lady had a stressful experience over the weekend. And probably every weekend is pretty stressful in that house. And also, I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do. And I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it.”
This past Saturday night, a man — now identified as 31-year-old Cole Allen — allegedly intended to target the president and several of his cabinet members during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. A resident of the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance, Allen allegedly traveled across the country by train and came to the Washington Hilton armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives.
“Administration officials (not including Mr. [Kash] Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” he allegedly wrote in his manifesto before later adding, “I experience rage thinking about everything this administration has done.”
Authorities reportedly apprehended Allen as he tried to storm a security checkpoint on the floor above where the event was being held, firing two shots before the U.S. Secret Service apprehended him. Only one Secret Service agent sustained gunfire but was saved by his bulletproof vest. No further injuries were sustained.
During a press conference following the incident, President Trump, who had previously survived two assassination attempts, encouraged Americans to peacefully resolve their differences.
“I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our difference peacefully. We have to we have to resolve our differences. I will say, you had Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Conservatives, Liberals, and Progressives. Those words are interchangeable perhaps, but maybe they’re not,” Trump said. “But yet everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd, there was a record-setting group of people. And there was a tremendous amount of love and coming together. I watched, I watched and I was very, very impressed by that.”