Jimmy Kimmel almost called a Trump aide Melania on his show, then joked that the first lady ‘was spying for the Slovenians this whole time’

Jimmy Kimmel nearly mixed up Natalie Harp, an aide to President Donald Trump, with first lady Melania Trump during his Thursday monologue. He caught the slip right away and turned it into a punchline, as seen in the Jimmy Kimmel Live! monologue and reported by Reality Tea.

Kimmel was discussing former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and reports that a woman he was involved with was suspected of spying for China. He was criticizing the way Trump defended Huang, who reportedly denied knowing the woman had ties to Chinese intelligence.

“I wonder if Trump at any point when he heard this story thought, ‘I wonder if Natalia is a spy,’” Kimmel said before correcting himself. “I almost said Melania.” The audience laughed, and Kimmel leaned into the joke. “How great would that be? Melania was spying for the Slovenians this whole time,” he added.

The slip came in the middle of a bit about Nvidia’s former CEO

Huang resigned as Nvidia’s chief executive after admitting to an affair, as reports linked him to a suspected Chinese spy. Kimmel moved on with the rest of his monologue after the quick joke about the Slovenians.

The mix-up is not the first time Kimmel has brought Harp into his comedy. Earlier this year, the show featured a sketch in which Kimmel’s wife, Molly McNearney, played Harp, exaggerating the aide’s loyalty to the president. In one bit, the Harp character followed Kimmel around with large bags and asked, “Can I put my finger inside your mouth?” Kimmel replied, “No. Just go ahead and sit down.”

McNearney’s character also told the audience, “And this man is my guardian and my protector,” a nod to letters in which Harp reportedly called Trump her “Guardian and Protector in this Life,” per IBTimes. The sketch ended with the character saying, “Your wife doesn’t deserve you,” as she was led away.

Kimmel has clashed with the Trumps over Melania jokes before. During a sketch earlier this year, he joked that the first lady had “a glow like an expectant widow,” and Trump said Kimmel “should be immediately fired by Disney and ABC.” Kimmel later said the joke was not “a call to assassination,” according to Express & Star.

Harp has been a Trump supporter since 2019 and has served as his executive assistant since he returned to office in 2025, according to The Daily Beast.