Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert tackle Trump's 'super-racist' feud with John Lewis
Late night hosts had plenty to say about President-elect Donald Trump's attacks of Rep. John Lewis, after the Georgia Democrat and civil rights activist called Trump's election illegitimate and claimed he would skip the inauguration.
Trump responded — where else? — on Twitter. “Congressman John Lewis should spend more time on fixing and helping his district, which is in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested) rather than falsely complaining about the election results,” he wrote. “All talk, talk, talk - no action or results. Sad!”
Trump slammed for attacking civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis
Seth Meyers dedicated a "Closer Look" segment to the spat on Monday night's show, claiming that Trump "took it to an all-new, super-racist level."
"All talk, no action? John Lewis was getting beaten for protesting voting rights while you were starting your first failed business," he said, showing a fake Trump lemonade stand, each glass retailing for $300.
Meyers reminds viewers that Trump previously praised Lewis' Atlanta congressional district in 2006 when he was attempting to build a high-rise there, the same location that he called "crime infested" in his tweets.
"I guess I'm not surprised. Trump changes his positions more times than a porn star with a bad back," Meyers joked.
Meyers touches on the whirlwind of other figures working cleanup for Trump -- from Mike Pence's defenses of Trump's Lewis comments to Reince Priebus claiming the president-elect has believed in Obama's American citizenship for years -- before coming to a depressing conclusion.
"What all this makes clear is that as Trump prepares to become president on Friday, we're gonna need strong congressional oversight," he said, praising Sen. Elizabeth Warren's grilling Housing and Urban Development secretary nominee Ben Carson, getting Carson to slip up and tell the commission, "It will not be my intention to do anything benefitting any American."
"It will not be my intention to do anything benefitting any American," Meyers repeats. "I feel like that's the closest we're going to get to a mission statement from the Trump administration."
Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert had a lot to say about Trump picking a fight with Lewis on the eve of MLK Day.
"So Trump spent the Martin Luther King weekend attacking a civil rights leader who marched and was beaten with Dr. King. What is he going to do on Easter?" he said, imagining a fake Trump tweet. "'Loser Jesus dead for three days, then wakes up. Fake news. I like gods who don't die. Where's the rebirth certificate?"
Colbert also addressed Trump's scheduled, and a cancelled visit to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History in D.C., originally slated for MLK Day.
"Donald Trump observed the holiday by visiting the National Museum of African American History, or more accurately, canceling his visit to the National Museum of African American History," he joked. "Although I guess in a way that might be good, the last thing we need is Trump learning more about segregation."
On the Daily Show, Trevor Noah also piled onto the criticism of Trump. “You’re calling a civil rights hero who marched in Selma with Martin Luther King, Jr. ‘all talk, no action'?" he asked. “Saying John Lewis isn’t a ‘man of action’ is like me saying Donald Trump is all tax returns, no tweets.”
