Actor Daniel Baldwin said late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel’s frequent monologues targeting the Trump administration contributed to a climate of hostility leading up to the recent assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
During a Sunday broadcast of “The Daniel Baldwin Show,” the “Homicide: Life on the Street” actor suggested that Kimmel’s frequent comments about the Trump administration might have a dangerous influence.
“Does Jimmy Kimmel not realize that when you keep bombarding in every one of your monologues and planting this kind of hatred in the American public or the people that follow you, someone might act on that?” Baldwin said.
Regarding the comedian’s responsibility, Baldwin added, “Now, does that exonerate Kimmel of any wrongdoing? Yeah, he didn’t do it, but did he play a role in it? Does he care that he played a role? Is that the point? Does he do it because he wants that to happen? I don’t know the answer to those questions, but I’m sad, man.”
The dispute centers on a joke Kimmel made two days prior to the shooting at the Washington Hilton, in which he called Melania Trump an “expectant widow.”
While Trump used Truth Social to state that “Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC,” Melania Trump described the comedian’s words as “corrosive” and “intended to divide our country,” the New York Post reported.
Kimmel has since defended the remark as a “pretend roast” regarding the couple’s age gap and the “look of joy” he observes when they are together.
Baldwin, who identified as a conservative in 2016, argued that the industry’s culture has shifted toward normalized hostility.
He recalled being on sets with “big-name” talent who would “be sh—– on some politician” and once heard a person say, “Someone should shoot him.”
“I used to be proud to say I was an actor… It’s not something I’m as proud to say or is it as big a deal because of the hatred that comes out from that side,” Baldwin said.
To emphasize his point, Baldwin referenced Johnny Carson’s decision to delay the 1981 Academy Awards after the shooting of President Ronald Reagan.
At that time, Carson told viewers: “I’m sure that all of you here and most of you watching tonight understand why we delayed this program for 24 hours. Because of the incredible events of yesterday, that old adage, the show must go on, seemed relatively unimportant.”
The situation has drawn varied reactions from other public figures.
Variety reported that actor George Clooney defended Kimmel at the 51st Chaplin Award Gala, noting that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had also used provocative language by previewing Trump’s speech as having “some shots fired.”
“Jimmy’s a comedian, and I would argue that Karoline Leavitt didn’t mean shots should be fired,” Clooney said.
Baldwin, however, maintained that today’s climate is unprecedented.
“We never hated anyone,” he said. “We never wanted someone to die or laughed about them dying.”
