- “BlacKkKlansman” director Spike Lee called on Americans to “mobilize” for the 2020 presidential election, implicitly calling on them to vote out President Donald Trump.
- Trump responded by calling the speech a “racist hit on your President.”
- Lee made the speech while accepting an award for “BlacKkKlansman,” which overtly links the Trump administration to racism and the KKK in early 1970s America.
President Donald Trump slammed director Spike Lee for launching a “racist hit on him” at Sunday’s Academy Awards, during which Lee called on Americans to “mobilize” and “be on the right side of history.”
Lee told the Oscars audience: “The 2020 presidential election is around the corner. Let’s all mobilize, let’s all be on the right side of history.
“Make the moral choice between love versus hate. Let’s do the right thing,” he added, without mentioning Trump’s name at all.
Watch the speech below.
Spike Lee calls on America to mobilize for the 2020 election: "Make the moral choice between love versus hate. Let’s do the right thing!" https://t.co/WFxDborr1n #oscars pic.twitter.com/TntC0f3kYm
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 25, 2019
Trump responded in a Monday morning tweet: "Be nice if Spike Lee could read his notes, or better yet not have to use notes at all, when doing his racist hit on your President, who has done more for African Americans (Criminal Justice Reform, Lowest Unemployment numbers in History, Tax Cuts,etc.) than almost any other Pres!"
It is not clear what in Lee's speech Trump considers racist.
Lee made the speech after winning an award for Best Adapted Screenplay for "BlacKkKlansman," which overtly links the Trump administration to racism and the KKK in early 1970s America.