Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel said his widow joke about first lady Melania Trump was not "a call to assassination" after US President Donald Trump said he should be "immediately fired" over the remarks.
Kimmel opened his programme "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Monday by describing the joke as a light roast about the couple's age difference and "not, by any stretch of the definition, a call to assassination."
It comes after a gunman attempted to storm the White House correspondents' dinner on Saturday night. Days before the incident, Kimmel did a sketch about the dinner where he joked that Melania had a "glow like an expectant widow."
In Monday's monologue, Kimmel said he was sorry that the president and those in attendance at the event went through that traumatic and scary experience.
"I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject," Kimmel said.
"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."
Earlier, Trump criticized the presenter in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, echoing comments his wife had made calling for US media network ABC to "take a stand" against Kimmel.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Wow, 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.
"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, and normally would not be responsive to anything that he said but, this is something far beyond the pale.
"Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC."
During the sketch, which aired last week before the dinner, Kimmel joked: "Our first lady, Melania, is here. So beautiful. Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow."
Melania responded to the sketch in a post shared on X on Monday and described the talk show host as a "coward".
She said: "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.
"People like Kimmel shouldn't have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate.
"A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him.
"Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC's leadership enable Kimmel's atrocious behaviour at the expense of our community."
In September, the late-night presenter was taken off the air and suspended indefinitely following comments he made on the show after the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, an ally of Trump.
The suspension was met with criticism from the public, some of Hollywood's biggest stars and political figures, towards the US administration for infringing on their freedom of speech and free press, leading to Kimmel's return five days later.
The comments came hours ahead of the King and Queen's historic arrival in the US – Charles' first trip to America as King and the most important foreign trip of his reign so far with the aim of strengthening the UK-US special relationship, which has been under serious strain in recent months.
The start of the visit has been overshadowed by the attempted assassination of the president on Saturday night at a Washington media dinner when he was surrounded by secret service agents and bundled from the room.
ABC and Kimmel have been contacted for comment.
