Daniel Baldwin, best known for his role in 'Homicide: Life on the Street' and as one of the famous four Baldwin brothers, has publicly called out Jimmy Kimmel following the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Baldwin accused the late-night host of fueling hatred through his nightly monologues.
Baldwin's Accusations
On Sunday's episode of 'The Daniel Baldwin Show,' Baldwin questioned whether Kimmel realizes the impact of his words. '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.
According to AOL, Baldwin was careful to clarify that he was not directly blaming Kimmel for the shooting itself, but questioned whether the host had any awareness of his influence. '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,' he said.
Reflections on Political Violence
The second-oldest of the four Baldwin brothers, who became a conservative in 2016, said he had never seen high-profile personalities speak so casually about political violence. He recalled being on film sets where well-known figures made offhand remarks about politicians being harmed. 'Your voice carries weight. Your words have followers and people,' he said.
Baldwin also reflected on what the moment has done to his feelings about his own profession. 'I used to be proud to say I was an actor. You walk into a room now and say, yeah, I'm an actor. It's not something I'm as proud to say because of the hatred that comes out from that side,' he added.
Comparison to Johnny Carson
In making his case, Baldwin drew a pointed comparison to Johnny Carson's response to the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. Speaking at the Academy Awards one day after the incident, Carson told the audience, 'Because of the incredible events of yesterday, that old adage, the show must go on, seemed relatively unimportant.'
Baldwin held that moment up as an example of the restraint and decency he felt was now missing. 'We never hated anyone. We never wanted someone to die or laughed about them dying. It's really disturbing to me,' he said.
Controversy Surrounding Jimmy Kimmel
According to Variety, Kimmel had already been under fire before Baldwin's remarks, after making a joke referring to Melania Trump as an 'expectant widow' just two days before the shooting at the Washington Hilton. Melania responded by describing his words as 'hateful and violent rhetoric' intended to divide the country, calling them 'corrosive.'
President Trump also called on ABC to remove Kimmel from his position, writing on Truth Social that the host should be 'immediately fired by Disney and ABC.'
Kimmel pushed back on the criticism, insisting his performance was a 'pretend roast' with no connection to the assassination attempt, and clarified that the joke was about the age difference between Melania and Trump and the expressions she makes when they are together. George Clooney stepped in to defend Kimmel at the 51st Chaplin Award Gala, though his remarks drew their own backlash online. Clooney drew a parallel between Kimmel's joke and a comment made by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who had joked before the event that there 'will be some shots fired tonight in the room' while previewing Trump's speech.
