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Seth Meyers fires back at Trump for 'racist' attack on civil rights icon John Lewis

Jan 17, 2017, 22:08 IST

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&quotLate Night With Seth Meyers"/NBC; YouTube

Seth Meyers argued that President-elect Donald Trump is being hypocritical when attacking critics who say that his presidency isn't legitimate in Monday's edition of "A Closer Look" on NBC's "Late Night" show.

Trump's most prominent critic of the moment is John Lewis, a Georgia congressman and civil rights icon. Recently, Lewis said that he considered Trump's presidency "illegitimate." Trump shot off a series of tweets attacking Lewis' work in his district, which includes much of Atlanta. Meyers believes that Trump's statements are both racist and conflict with statements Trump had previously made about Lewis' district.

"If you're wondering whether it's racist to assume Lewis' district is 'crime-infested and falling apart' just because he's black, the answer is a hard yes," the host said. "Of course, as usual, Trump isn't even being consistent. He felt a little differently about Lewis' district, which includes most of Atlanta, back in 2006 when he wanted to build a high-rise there, saying, 'It's a great location in a great city, I've loved Atlanta for years.' I guess I'm not surprised, Trump changes positions more often than a porn star with a bad back."

In response to Lewis, Republicans are arguing that no one disputed the validity of Barack Obama's presidency. Of course, the public record would show that isn't true.

"What kind of morally bankrupt person would question the legitimacy of Barack Obama's presidency? You'll never guess," Meyers toyed with viewers as a photo of Trump popped up on the screen. "Oh, you guessed already? How fast did you guess? Was it right away, like before I even asked? You guessed right away, right?"

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In response, Trump's incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus asserted that Trump had stopped questioning Obama's American citizenship, and constitutional eligibility to serve as president, two years ago. Once again, the public record would show that statement to be false. Trump finally closed down his years-long "birther" campaign against Obama in a speech in September of last year.

"First of all, it wasn't two years, it was two months ago," Meyers said. "Second, you don't get to brag about that. 'For two of the president's eight years in office, Donald Trump did not think [Obama] was born in Africa. Why can't you give him credit for that?'"

Watch the video below:

 

NOW WATCH: 'It's just me following orders from my friend, President Obama' - Steve Harvey recaps his meeting with Trump

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