Jimmy Kimmel Skewers Donald Trump for Using Correspondents' Dinner Shooting to Lobby for His White House Ballroom

Joseph KonigTue, April 28, 2026 at 3:41 PM UTC

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Jimmy Kimmel delivers a fake WHCD roast on his show (left); President Donald Trump shows off his ballroom plans (right)Credit: Randy Holmes/Disney/Getty;Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg/Getty -

Jimmy Kimmel took the president to task for using the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting to make the case for his White House ballroom

Kimmel made the remarks during his late-night monologue on Monday, April 27, as he weathers calls for his firing by President Donald Trump

Kimmel also offered a sincere apology to the president and first lady Melania Trump for the traumatic experience they went through at the Correspondents' Dinner

Jimmy Kimmel took President Donald Trump to task on Monday, April 27, for trying to use the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting as justification to resume construction on his White House ballroom.

Trump repeated his claims that the White House desperately needs a new ballroom in the immediate aftermath of the Saturday, April 25, shooting, and he has reiterated that demand each day since, recruiting top administration officials and Republican lawmakers to join his cause.

On Tuesday, April 28, Trump welcomed King Charles and Queen Camilla to the White House for their U.S. visit by showing off a model of his proposed ballroom.

“One thing about Donald Trump, there’s nothing he can’t turn into a real estate opportunity. He immediately turned this into an argument in favor of his ballroom,” Kimmel said during his Monday, April 27, monologue, referencing Trump’s post where he described it as “the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom.”

President Donald Trump holds up plans for the White House ballroom on Oct. 22, 2025Credit: Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg/Getty

Trump has claimed in recent months that the military is pushing for the construction of the ballroom “more than anybody” and that “it was supposed to be secret.”

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news. I’m afraid that top secret ballroom is no longer top secret, Mr. President,” Kimmel said on his show. “I don’t believe for one second that the reason he decided to build this ballroom is for security, but this was a pretty good argument for building — I might be pro-ballroom now, weirdly, after this.”

“That way if anything terrible ever happens, at least they can dance,” the longtime late show host joked.

Later, former Obama speechwriter and Pod Save America host Jon Lovett joined the show — subbing in for Oz the Mentalist, who was originally scheduled to appear but canceled after the shooting at the dinner where he was headlining, according to CNN.

Lovett told Kimmel he was “nuts” for changing his mind about the necessity of the ballroom, noting that construction had stopped because a federal judge said it was likely Trump didn’t have the authority to tear down the East Wing last year to make way for it. The Justice Department is now fighting that ruling in court as some Republicans in Congress push for legislation to give Trump that authority and even offer funding for its construction.

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“The problem with the [White House] ballroom is not the idea or concept of a philosophical ballroom,” Lovett said. “The ballroom doesn't become more legal because someone did something evil and f---ing stupid at a different ballroom. It’s not how ballrooms work.”

Both the president and the first lady called for Kimmel to be fired or disciplined by ABC over jokes he made last week in a mock “alternative” White House Correspondents’ Dinner monologue two days before the shooting. One joke referred to Melania as “an expectant widow.”

Kimmel defended the joke on Monday, arguing it was “obviously a joke about their age difference” and a “very light roast joke.”

But he also apologized to the first lady, the president and “everyone in that room on Saturday went through that," acknowledging that it would have been "traumatic" and "scary" for anyone in the room.

Karoline Leavitt, Melania Trump, Donald Trump and Weijia Jiang at the Correspondents' Dinner on April 25Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty

A gunman allegedly attempted to enter the annual dinner — which is hosted by the journalist-run White House Correspondents' Association — and assassinate the president and senior Cabinet members, the Justice Department said. Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other officials were whisked away by their security details after gunfire broke out steps from the dinner venue.

The alleged gunman, 31-year-old Cole Allen, was apprehended shortly before he reached the ballroom doors at the Washington Hilton. One Secret Service officer was shot, but was spared severe harm thanks to his bulletproof vest, Trump said.

Allen was charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the United States and two federal gun charges on Monday.

The White House did not relent on its Kimmel crusade on Tuesday. White House communications director Steven Cheung responded to Kimmel’s monologue by calling him “a s--- human being” and writing that “ABC needs to fire him immediately and he should be shunned for the rest of his life.”

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”