Saturday Night Live risks Trump’s fury with assassination attempt joke after Kimmel drama
SNL comedian Michael Che made a joke about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting on Weekend Update, just days after Donald Trump called for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired over his Melania joke
Michael Che made a joke about the alleged White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter(Image: NBC, Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty Images)
Donald Trump was the subject of a joke on Saturday Night Live, with one comedian referencing the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting.
Michael Che joined his SNL co-star Colin Jost for the Weekend Update on May 2, where he displayed a photograph of accused shooter Cole Tomas Allen captured before he reportedly opened fire at the Washington Hilton on April 25. Trump emerged uninjured from the alleged assassination attempt, and the shooter was neutralized by Secret Service personnel.
The risky joke came as SNL UK also took aim at Melania Trump, following Jimmy Kimmel’s calls to be fired after joking about the First Lady.
READ MORE: 60 Minutes viewers rip into Donald Trump as he’s accused of ‘wearing adult diaper’READ MORE: Melania Trump breaks protocol with ‘inappropriate’ pink gown for state dinner
Discussing the incident on SNL, Che stated, “Cole Tomas Allen, the alleged White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter, took this selfie in his hotel room shortly before his assassination attempt.”
The 42-year-old comedian then quipped that Allen captioned his social media selfie, “Felt cute, might delete president.” A video of SNL’s Weekend Update segment was posted on X, with viewers applauding Jost and Che.
Saturday Night Live featured a joke about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner(Image: NBC)
“Standard SNL fixture, reliably sharp. joke delivery system,” one viewer enthused. Another commented, “Jost and Che always turn real-world chaos into clean, fast punchlines.” This occurred just days after a backstage photograph captured Trump committing an inappropriate act on Melania – mere feet away from King Charles.
Che’s quip about the shooting follows Trump having already demanded Jimmy Kimmel be terminated over his joke about Melania being an “expectant widow.”
The comedian delivered the contentious remark during the April 23 episode of his show as he presented an “alternative” White House Correspondents’ Dinner segment. Kimmel took aim at the annual event’s decision to feature a mentalist rather than a stand-up comedian as entertainment, before turning his attention to the first lady. “You have a glow like an expectant widow,” Kimmel said.
Jimmy Kimmel recently made a controversial joke about ‘expectant widow’ Melania Trump(Image: Randy Holmes, Disney via Getty Images)
He added, “You know, Melania’s birthday is on Sunday. She’s planning to celebrate at home the way she always does – looking out a window and whispering, ‘What have I done?'” reports the Irish Star.
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting occurred just two days after Kimmel delivered his joke. In the aftermath, Melania Trump took to X to publicly criticize the late night host.
In her statement, she criticized, “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 deepen the political sickness within America.” She further stated, “Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. People like Kimmel shouldn’t have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.”
Donald and Melania Trump called for ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel over his joke(Image: Pool/ABACA/Shutterstock)
The president also entered the debate, demanding Kimmel be fired “immediately” and branding the quip “shocking” and “far beyond the pale.” Kimmel fired back at the president’s remarks during his show.
The funnyman maintained he had simply made an “obvious” joke referencing the Trumps’ age gap. He said, “It was not by any stretch a call to assassination. I agree hateful and violent is something we should reject.”
Kimmel suggested to the first lady, “A great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband.” Speaking directly to Melania Trump, Kimmel acknowledged how “traumatic and scary” the shooting must have been for her.