Daniel Baldwin accuses Jimmy Kimmel of ‘planting hatred’ before Trump assassination attempt

Daniel Baldwin is pointing a finger at Jimmy Kimmel, arguing the late-night host’s relentless mockery of the Trump administration helped create a climate that may have contributed to the assassination attempt on the president at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Speaking on Sunday’s episode of “The Daniel Baldwin Show,” the actor stopped short of holding Kimmel directly responsible but raised pointed questions about the comedian’s culpability.

“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.

“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 second-oldest of the four Baldwin brothers, Daniel said he converted to conservatism in 2016 and claimed he has never witnessed high-profile celebrities speak so loosely about political violence. He recalled unsettling moments on film sets where major Hollywood names crossed a line.

“I remember being on movie sets with big-name people, Oscar winner, high-paid talent,” said the “Homicide: Life on the Street” star. “And they would just be sh—on some politician or person, like, ‘Yeah, someone should get him.’ ‘Someone should shoot him,’ someone once said in front of me. And I thought, ‘Wow, your voice carries weight. You know, your words have followers and people.'”

Baldwin invoked Johnny Carson’s sober 1981 Academy Awards monologue, delivered the day after the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, as a contrast to today’s tone. “We never hated anyone. We never wanted someone to die or laugh about them dying. It’s really disturbing to me,” he said.

Kimmel had already been under fire before the shooting for calling Melania Trump an “expectant widow” just two days prior. The First Lady responded by accusing Kimmel of “hateful and violent rhetoric” designed to divide the country, while President Trump called on Disney and ABC to terminate the host immediately.

“Jimmy Kimmel should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Kimmel pushed back, insisting the joke was part of a “pretend roast” unconnected to the attack and that it was meant to reference the age gap between Melania and the president.

Actor George Clooney stepped in to defend Kimmel at the 51st Chaplin Award Gala, drawing a parallel with press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s pre-dinner quip that “there will be some shots fired tonight in the room.” “Jimmy’s a comedian, and I would argue that Karoline Leavitt didn’t mean shots should be fired,” Clooney said, according to Variety, a comment that itself ignited controversy online.