Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers on Thursday appeared on "Saturday Night Live: Weekend Update" dressed up as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Their segment focused on whether or not Confederate statues should remain in place, especially after last weekend's violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.
"Anyway, about this whole Robert E. Lee thing, I'm nothing like that guy. I created this country. He tried to tear it apart," Fallon said as Washington. "I rebelled against England. He rebelled against America. Him — bad. Me — Founding Father. The original Dad."
The show's host, Michael Che, brought up a fact that is often left out of the discussion: that Washington owned slaves.
"The issue is that you and Robert E. Lee both owned slaves," Che said.
Fallon then throws the ball to Meyers, who played the role of Jefferson, by reminding the audience that Jefferson, too, owned slaves.
“Whoa, you’re going to throw me under the carriage like that?” Meyers asked as Jefferson. “You’re going to make me the slave guy, really?”
Meyers paused and looked at the audience.
“You have to remember, it was a different time, man. It was the '70s, man. The 1770s," he explained. “Look, we have all done bad things, but the difference between us and Robert E. Lee is we did good things, like I wrote the Declaration of Independence."
“Not to be a jerk, but I won my war,” Fallon said as Washington.
“Yeah, and I’m sorry, Robert E. Lee, but I prefer generals who win wars,” Meyers added as Jefferson.
(H/T: The Hill)
