Jimmy Kimmel brutally questioned the timing of first lady Melania Trump’s remarks on Thursday, attempting to distance herself from the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“Why is this happening today?” Kimmel asked on his late night show Thursday, before referencing the president. “He spent the past six weeks trying to bomb this Epstein story out of the headlines. Two days after the ceasefire, she puts it right back on top. She must really hate him. I don’t know how else to explain it.”

Kimmel went on to mock reports that President Donald Trump was unaware of the first lady’s remarks ahead of time.

“So then a reporter gets hold of Trump, calls his phone, he says, ‘I didn’t know anything about this statement Melania made.’ He didn’t know she was gonna do it before she did it, which shows you just how smoothly things are running over there,” Kimmel said. “For whatever reason, she didn’t ask, she didn’t give him a head-up, she just went right out in front of the cameras and fired away.”

During her remarks, the first lady also called on Congress to hold public hearings focused on survivors of Epstein’s abuse.

“Give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress with the power of sworn testimony,” she said. “Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public, if she wishes, and then her testimony should be permanently entered into the congressional record.”

Watch Kimmel’s full opening monologue from Thursday night’s show:

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