Pamela Gross to Newsmax: Melania Claims 'Moral High Ground' vs. Kimmel

First lady Melania Trump "claimed the moral high ground" in her public response to ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, Pamela Gross, a former adviser to the first lady during President Donald Trump's first term in office, told Newsmax Monday.

Donald and Melania Trump both called for ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel on Monday after a joke last week in which the late-night comic described the first lady as having "the glow of an expectant widow."

The remark about the president's wife was part of a routine on Thursday's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" where the host pretended to deliver a comedy routine at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

That event two nights later was cut short when a man armed with guns and knives tried to enter the Washington ballroom where the Trumps and much of the nation’s political leadership had gathered.

"People like Kimmel shouldn't have the opportunity to enter our homes each evening to spread hate," Melania Trump said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, later echoed by her husband.

"Mrs. Trump's statement today on Twitter was so important," said Gross, speaking on
"Ed Henry: The Big Take."

"She has claimed the moral high ground in the statement, because what she's saying is that ABC News and other outlets as well are protecting, are platforming, are normalizing and allowing this kind of hateful rhetoric that is inciting violence against her and her family and against the country."

Gross asked when ABC would "to take responsibility for his actions, which are causing violence in our nation and against our elected officials.

"This is a very serious thing," she said.

In her X post, Melania Trump called Kimmel's comments "hateful and violent rhetoric" that "is intended to divide our country," adding that "his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America."

Gross said the first lady's response builds on her past calls for unity, including a message issued after a prior assassination attempt against the president in Butler, Pennsylvania.

"She made a very important note to the country, to the world, explaining that we have taken our elected officials and we have dehumanized them, and it's allowing for this kind of violence across the board," Gross said.

"And now she has taken it to the next step, and she is calling for ABC ... and other outlets like them to take a stand."

Gross also rejected portrayals of Melania Trump as terrified and frightened during the chaos resulting from the dinner.

"She's lived this life for years, and she hears the shots and sees the Secret Service come at her, and she puts her body and her head behind the dais to protect herself," Gross said.

"This is not a scared woman. This is a self-possessed woman. This is a wide-awake woman. This is a cognizant woman."

Gross said the first lady's statement is more than just a call for decency.

"I think it's more than that. I think she is calling for this to stop. This is enough," she said.

"We've had three attempts on her husband's life, on her family. This is incitement to violence. This has got to end. And Mrs. Trump has claimed the mantle here."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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