Jimmy Fallon calls Donald Trump silence on Charlottesville shameful

Jimmy Fallon took a break from being all fun and games on The Tonight Show to address the situation in Charlottesville and the way Donald Trump handled it.

Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show is not a political show. The funnyman’s focus on his nightly talk show is on fun and games, and typically Jimmy’s show is also so very light-hearted. But with how terrible this past weekend was, Fallon found it necessary to start the show on a serious note to address what’s been happening.

Fallon speaks on the incident in Charlottesville which saw a white supremacist take the life of a young woman counter-protesting their hateful rally. Jimmy notes that although his show is not a political one, he has the responsibility to address the white supremacy and hatred that’s going on in the country. The Tonight Show host talks about fearing the day he has to explain what all of this is to his two young children.

To make things worse, Donald Trump completely handled the situation all wrong. On Saturday, he took to a podium to say that he condemns the violence “on all sides”, shifting the blame from the Nazis and refusing to name them directly. Only after two days of pressure and controversy did Trump finally release a statement saying he condemns these racist groups.

“The fact that it took the president two days to come out and clearly denounce racists and white supremacists is shameful,” Fallon says. He adds that Trump likely only did so because of the rest of us standing up and saying something. It’s important, Fallon says, for everyone to speak out against it, as “ignoring it is just as bad as supporting it.”

“We can’t go backward,” Fallon emphasizes before closing out the segment. You can watch Fallon explain it himself in the video below.

The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. EST on NBC.