On Tuesday's Late Night, Seth Meyers noted that on Sunday night, Marco Rubio responded to President Obama's call not to discriminate against Muslims by saying there is no real discrimination against Muslims in the U.S. "Most people saw that and said 'That's ridiculous,'" Meyers said, "but Donald Trump apparently saw that and said: Challenge accepted!" If you follow the news closely, you probably already know most of the big developments regarding Trump's proposal to ban all Muslims from the U.S., but Meyers ties it all together pretty neatly in a "Weekend Update"-like package.
He started with Trump defending his proposal by saying President Franklin D. Roosevelt locked up Japanese during World War II. "Praising FDR for internment is like praising Peyton Manning for the Papa John's commercials," Meyers said. He noted that the poll Trump keeps citing is a "widely discredited" hit job by crackpot "anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist" Frank Gaffney, and tipped his hat to Trump for making Dick Cheney "look like a moderate," and ridiculed Trump's suggestion about calling Bill Gates for advice on "closing that internet up."
But Meyers wasn't just mocking Trump. "Here's the most dangerous thing about Trump: He's shifting the boundaries of what's considered acceptable in American politics," Meyers said, citing the recent proposals by Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush to bar only Muslim Syrian refugees from resettling in the U.S. Like many observers, he saw Trump's new big idea as a diversionary tactic after falling behind Cruz in an Iowa poll. "Trump knows exactly what he's doing," Meyers said, noting the wall-to-wall coverage he's received since making his "crazy plan to ban Muslims," including spots on "three major morning shows" — and, of course, his own "Closer Look" at Late Night. Watch below. Peter Weber
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