A day after Donald Trump's campaign banned Washington Post reporters from attending his events, comedian Seth Meyers prohibited the Republican presumptive nominee from appearing on his show, Late Night.
On Monday, the Trump campaign called the Post "phony and dishonest" and revoked the national newspaper's access to his rallies. Trump accused the journalists of inaccurately reporting on comments he made in the wake of the weekend massacre at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida, in which he seemed to imply President Obama sympathized with terrorists. The gunman in the Orlando massacre pledged allegiance to the Islamic State militant group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, during a 911 call.
The Post joined the growing list of media outlets that previously have been banned from Trump's events, including—but not limited to—BuzzFeed, Politico, The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post and Univision.
"We here at Late Night believe in freedom of the press," Meyers said on his show Tuesday night. "So as long as The Washington Post is banned from Donald Trump's campaign, Donald Trump will be banned from ever coming on this show."
Shortly after, Meyers admitted Trump had and never would appear willingly on his show. "Let's be honest," the host said. "He had no interest in being here."
Later in the 7-minute segment, Meyers accused Trump of "stoking fear and spreading hate." The former Saturday Night Live head writer and cast member blasted the candidate for what he called his streak of "making inflammatory statements without any evidence whatsoever," highlighting his proposal to ban Muslim immigrants from entering the United States. He cautioned Americans, specifically journalists, from becoming immune to Trump's rhetoric.
"Trump's vague innuendo is no accident. This is a strategy he uses to try to appeal to the outer fringes, while also avoiding accountability," Meyers said.
Obama fired back at Trump and other critics on Tuesday, calling out politicians who tweet and appear on cable news shows to suggest that the thousands of officials working around the world to defeat ISIS aren't taking the fight seriously.
"If the implication is that those of us up here and the thousands of people around the country and around the world who are working to defeat ISIL aren't taking the fight seriously," Obama said in a televised address,"that'd come as a surprise to those who've spent these last seven and a half years dismantling Al-Qaeda and the [ Federally Administered Tribal Areas], for example."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Michele Gorman is a Newsweek political reporter, with a focus on gun policy. She previously worked at msnbc.com, where she ... Read more
