August 15, 2017

White people elected Donald Trump, that was clear. But Trump's pandering to the farthest reaches of these dark impulses with his support for white nationalism is now finally being called out as completely unacceptable. What Trump could get away with as a candidate he can no longer do as President.

Meyers was unequivocal: Preside or leave.

Source: Vanity Fair

On Monday night, late-night comedians took a moment to offer earnest responses to the tragedies that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend. Like John Oliver, who responded to the “Unite the Right” rally and the act of terror that came with it on Sunday night, everyone—including Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, James Corden, and Jimmy Kimmel—was unimpressed, to put it mildly, by Donald Trump’s initial response to the situation, which criticized “violence on many sides.”

Meyers was explicit: If you want to be the leader of white nationalists you can't also be President of the United States.

SETH MEYERS: “Donald Trump did not immediately denounce the white supremacist movement when given the chance, and now, whether he knows it or not, many of those people see him as leading that movement.The leader of our country is called a ‘president’ because he’s supposed to preside over our society. His job is to lead, to cajole, to scold, to correct our path, to lift up what is good about us and to absolutely and unequivocally and immediately condemn what is evil in us. And if he does not do that—if he does not preside over our society—then he is not a president. You can stand for a nation, or you can stand for a hateful movement. You can’t do both. And if you don’t make the right choice, I am confident that the American voter will.”

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon