Donald Trump pauses televised speech, tells Melania Trump their marriage won't last as long as his parents' union

Donad Trump spoke Tuesday during a televised speech welcoming King Charles to the United States.

Key Points

• The president paused the speech and turned toward wife Melania Trump to make a joke about the length of their marriage.

• "Uh, excuse me, if you don't mind, that's a record we won't be able to match, darling," Trump said of his parents' 63-year union.

Donald Trumptemporarily paused a live TV speech honoring the arrival of the United Kingdom's King Charles to make a joke about the length of his marriage toMelania Trump.

Speaking to attendees Tuesday outside the White House, where King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived for a state visit to the United States, Trump reflected on his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born in Scotland.

"She came to America at 19, met my incredible father, we loved him so much, we all loved him, we loved her, we loved him: Fred. And, they were married for 63 years," Trump said as King Charles, Queen Camilla, and his wife sat behind him on stage.

The president then turned toward his spouse, telling her, "And, uh, excuse me, if you don't mind, that's a record we won't be able to match, darling."

Attendees and those on stage laughed at the joke, which the president leaned into in the moment.

"I'm sorry, it's just not going to work out that way. We'll do well, but we're not going to do that well," he said, before moving on to reveal that his late mother had a keen interest in British public figures.

"My mother, I just see it so clearly, she loved — I told the king this — she loved the royal family, and she loved the queen," he said. "And any time the queen was involved in a ceremony or anything, my mother would be glued to the television, and she'd say, 'Look, Donald, look how beautiful that is.'"

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He added that "she really did love the family, but I also remember her saying, very clearly, 'Charles, look, young Charles, he's so cute.' My mom! My mother had a crush on Charles, can you believe it? I wonder what she's thinking right now!"

The joke comes days after the Trumps were in the room at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Dinner inside the Washington, D.C., Hilton, where shots rang out upon a suspect, Cole Allen, rushing past security in an alleged assassination attempt.

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After comedianJimmy Kimmel made a subsequent joke about Melania being an "expectant widow,"Melania made a rare public condemnation of the Hollywood figure, calling his words "hateful and violent rhetoric."

The president alsocalled for Kimmel to be fired from his post onJimmy Kimmel Live, though thetalk show host clarified that the quipwas "obviously was a joke about their age difference and the look of joy we see on her face every time they're together."

He finished, "I agree that hateful and violent rhetoric is something we should reject. I do. And I think a great place to start to dial that back would be to have a conversation with your husband about it."

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