Tapper Plays Defense Lawyer for Nasty Jimmy Kimmel and His Comedic 'Coverage' of Trump

Tapper hosted an hour-long CNN special titled No Laughing Matter: Free Speech Under Attack. Tapper falsely claimed in that special that Kimmel “wasn’t calling the shooter MAGA.” He told NBC’s Seth Meyers that Kimmel’s suspension was “pretty much the most direct infringement by the government on free speech that I've seen in my lifetime.” (That’s not counting the free speech of Charlie Kirk.) On Monday's The Lead, Tapper crusaded for Kimmel again after he was condemned by Melania Trump, followed by President Trump again calling on ABC to dump Kimmel after he created a fake Correspondents Dinner routine on Thursday night where he said to Melania: So beautiful, Mrs. Trump. You have a glow like an expectant widow. Tapper lamented what was perhaps inevitable that the Trump administration would try to use Saturday’s horrific act of violence to try to clamp down on criticism and free speech. In other words, Tapper didn't object to Kimmel's joke half as much as to criticism from the Trumps. It's quite obvious that Tapper acts as a defense lawyer for Jimmy Kimmel when he makes nasty jokes about Dead Trump. His client cannot be judged for mean-spirited dumb cracks after the shooting. (How about before the shooting?) Tapper REALLY objects to anyone seeking to curb pic.twitter.com/7BmybkKCNa — Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) April 28, 2026 TAPPER: Today, the President and the first lady, Melania Trump, citing a joke that comedian Jimmy Kimmel made last Thursday on his show, tried to connect that joke with the assassination attempt. Now, there is zero evidence — zero evidence that the would-be, alleged assassin heard the joke....is it fair to judge Jimmy Kimmel’s joke in light of what happened at the dinner two nights later?... Does anyone out there think that Karoline Leavitt had any idea what would happen? I don’t. Does anyone out there think that Jimmy Kimmel had any idea what happened? What would happen? I don’t know, do I think both, in retrospect, would choose their words differently in retrospect, given what happened on Saturday night? Of course. But this crusade against Kimmel was predictable because the Trump administration’s attempt to use Saturday’s shooting as justification to stop all critical coverage, whether journalistic or comedic, of Donald Trump. This entire formulation makes excuses for Kimmel and crusades against stopping all critical coverage, including comedic coverage of the Trumps. It's somehow unfair to judge Kimmel after the fact. Wasn't it easy to judge Kimmel as a crude jerk before Saturday night? Is Tapper incapable of imagining that he wouldn't like a joke about Dead Jake Tapper and his beautiful widow? Then Tapper lamented how Trump appointee Kari Lake attacked CNN at their table for causing the shooting with their rhetoric, and Tapper said she trailed me for about a block I was trying to ignore her. She was saying that I was responsible for what happened. CNN’s responsible for what happened, and that unhinged rant by someone who, frankly, obviously needs help. Notice again: Tapper defensively says Kimmel might have chosen different words, but he was not guilty of an unhinged rant like the apparent psycho stalker Kari Lake. Ultimately, Tapper thinks the attempted censorship is worse than the crude talk of Trump being murdered: “It is a big problem of calls for violence and dehumanization, and it’s getting worse. But it is not a problem to be wielded like a cudgel to try to stop journalism or jokes. Journalism and jokes are not calls for violence, calls for violence are calls for violence, and far too many Americans in positions of power and influence are too blasé and too glib about those who make them.” CNN’s Jake Tapper says journalists and comedians like Jimmy Kimmel are not the ones hurling incendiary rhetoric and are not irresponsible for the rise of political violence... “It is a big problem of calls for violence and dehumanization, and it’s getting worse. But it is not a pic.twitter.com/AoWGCcZYO0 — Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 27, 2026 If there is ANYONE who is too blase and glib right now about violent talk like Trump being killed, it's Jimmy Kimmel. Journalism and jokes CAN be dehumanizing. Just because the establishment does it doesn't make it right. CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper 04/27/26 5:41:17 p.m. 5 minutes and 17 seconds [ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: Breaking News; Trump Admin Labels Criticism, Jokes as Calls For Violence After Would-Be Assassin Target Admin Officials Saturday] JAKE TAPPER: Let us discuss now two important aspects of what has happened in the United States since the horrific attempted assassination on President Trump and members of the Trump administration. And let me be clear at the very outset that the violence is horrific and should be condemned by everyone. I’ll get into the responsibility that we all have to help bring down the temperature in a second. But first, let me touch on the news today and what was perhaps inevitable that the Trump administration would try to use Saturday’s horrific act of violence to try to clamp down on criticism and free speech. Today, the President and the first lady, Melania Trump, citing a joke that comedian Jimmy Kimmel made last Thursday on his show, tried to connect that joke with the assassination attempt. Now, there is zero evidence — zero evidence that the would-be, alleged assassin heard the joke. In fact, authorities say the suspect left California for Washington, D.C., by train on Tuesday, so his trip to D.C. started long before Jimmy Kimmel told this joke on Thursday night, airing this pretend correspondents dinner skit. JIMMY KIMMEL [on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, 04/23/26]: Then, of course, our First Lady, Melania, is here. Look at — so beautiful Mrs. Trump. You have a glow like an expectant widow. TAPPER: Earlier today, the First Lady tweeted: “Kimmel’s...monologue about my family isn’t comedy- his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America...It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC’s leadership enable Kimmel’s atrocious behavior at the expense of our community.” This in response to a joke she did not like. This afternoon, President Trump followed with a Truth social post that said, ‘this is something far beyond the pale. Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.’ There was more, but let us just take this moment and say, is it fair to judge Jimmy Kimmel’s joke in light of what happened at the dinner two nights later? White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Saturday, shortly before the shooting, that President Trump’s speech would be funny and there would be ‘shots fired,’ which of course would not taken literally refers to humorous insults. Does anyone out there think that Karoline Leavitt had any idea what would happen? I don’t. Does anyone out there think that Jimmy Kimmel had any idea what happened? What would happen? I don’t know, do I think both, in retrospect, would choose their words differently in retrospect, given what happened on Saturday night? Of course. But this crusade against Kimmel was predictable because the Trump administration’s attempt to use Saturday’s shooting as justification to stop all critical coverage, whether journalistic or comedic, of Donald Trump. That started even before the ballroom emptied. Because Kari Lake, the election denier who’s currently in charge of voice of America, she approached a CNN table after the shooting and blamed journalists for the attempted attack and personally insulted one of our correspondents as a “midget.” She then went outside and trailed me for about a block I was trying to ignore her. She was saying that I was responsible for what happened. CNN’s responsible for what happened, and that unhinged rant by someone who, frankly, obviously needs help, is now being matched with social media posts and more from the White House trying to use this horrific tragedy to demonize any criticism as calls for violence. And the President has been making literal calls for violence since 2015. I’m not even going to go into them. You’re familiar with them, but literal calls for violence. Now, a reminder that the President’s tone immediately after the attack on Saturday was praised by Democrats and Republicans, and it was far more conciliatory. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP [on 04/25/26]: I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully. We have to. We have to resolve our differences. TAPPER: That sentiment clearly did not last long. And let us turn now to this deranged alleged, would-be assassin whose writings clearly seem to be from someone on the left. And there is a problem with violence on the left in the United States. And there is a problem with violence on the right in the United States and to — to debate which one is worse is honestly to avoid the problem. It’s all awful. It all needs to stop now. Now, there was a time when people who tried to justify violence against anyone were considered fringe lunatics. Today, a lot of them are called influencers. Social media companies have figured out how to commodify the hate that they push. It’s pushed by these twisted algorithms too. And politicians and pundits are increasingly lending their credibility to these influencers. And those politicians and pundits are playing a role in this, too. Tim Graham Mon, 04/27/2026 - 20:25 Marketing Timing Regular Search Engine Title Jake Tapper Defends Jimmy Kimmel Amid Trump Criticism Over Joke Controversy CNS Commentary Off