Melania Trump’s advisor calls for advertiser drop Jimmy Kimmel’s show

First lady Melania Trump’s senior adviser Marc Beckman is calling on advertisers of late night host Jimmy Kimmel to boycott the show in the wake of his “expectant widow” joke aimed at the first lady.

“Why would ABC stand behind that? That’s the question. Furthermore, not just for the ABC brand, but why do the advertisers for Kimmel’s show stick with him,” said Marc Beckman. “It’s kind of strange.”

The first lady called out Kimmel for “hateful and violent rhetoric” after he made a White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner parody, calling her “an expectant widow” days prior to the assassination attempt. Kimmel has  defended his skit, saying it was a joke about age difference and not a call for an assassination.

Beckman said while the first lady was selective with her words, “Kimmel should be fired. ABC should terminate his employment.”

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The first lady slammed Kimmel in an X post on Monday, including calling him a “coward” and calling on “ABC to take a stand.”

“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 wrote. 

Beckman, CEO of advertising agency DMA United, said that, from his perspective, “it’s not about freedom of speech. It’s about branding.”

“Why would ABC and the parent company, Disney, want to be affiliated with an individual that’s entering all of our homes, America’s homes, night after night [in] our living rooms, our bedrooms, and spewing such divisive, vile political rhetoric,” he added. “It leads to nowhere good.”

Beckman cited reporting from the Wall Street Journal that analyzed terrorism incidents compiled by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, data showing that, in 2025, left-wing terrorist attacks and plots outnumbered right-wing ones for the first time in more than 30 years.

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“Why would ABC stand behind that? That’s the question. Furthermore, not just for the ABC brand, but why do the advertisers for Kimmel’s show, stick with him,” said Marc Beckman. (Randy Holmes/Disney via Getty Images)

“The amount of political violence, physical political violence from the left to the right is at a higher level,” said Beckman. “The trend is that from left to right, political violence is greater than that from right to left.”

He says the first lady is always paying attention, watching everything while continuing to be one of the hardest working people.

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“She pays attention to what people are saying in the media, but she doesn’t care so much I think what she’s focused on is how could she continue to create great achievements for the country,” said Beckman.

“She’s focused on American children, American families, taking care of the nation as First Lady. She’s not going to really care about all the gossip, lies, and innuendo.” (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Kimmel drew backlash last year over remarks about Charlie Kirk’s killing that critics said mischaracterized the suspect and politicized the case. The ABC host was then briefly suspended from the airwaves before returning and apologizing.

The first lady has recently used her position to expand children’s access to technology and education while inviting 45 countries for the inaugural “Fostering the Future Together” global summit in March.

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“So what is she focused on? She’s focused on American children, American families, taking care of the nation as First Lady. She’s not going to really care about all the gossip, lies, and innuendo,” added Beckman.

Digital reached out to ABC and representatives for Kimmel but did not immediately receive responses.