Trump Calls Spike Lee’s Oscar Acceptance Speech a “Racist Hit on Your President”

Donald Trump took aim at newly minted (non-honorary) Oscar-winner Spike Lee early Monday morning. 

The president attacked the filmmaker on Twitter over his acceptance speech after winning best adapted screenplay for BlacKkKlansman, a speech that didn’t mention Trump by name, but urged Americans to “mobilize” for the 2020 election and “make the moral choice between love versus hate.”

“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!” Trump tweeted, so far his only response to the 2019 Oscars ceremony, an event that is frequently his target for criticism. 

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!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2019

BlacKkKlansman famously closes with real footage from violence in Charlottesville, Va., looking to showcase how the racism at the heart of the film, set in the 1970s, has entered the mainstream following Trump’s election. 

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Oscars: Maya Rudolph Jokes Mexico "Is Not Paying for the Wall" in Show Opening

During the Oscars, several others also used their time on stage to bring up Trump’s policies without mentioning his name. 

“There’s no host, there won’t be a popular movie category, and Mexico is not paying for the wall,” said Maya Rudolph in her opening skit alongside Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, while Javier Bardem said that there were “no borders or walls that can restrain ingenuity and talent” as he presented the award for best foreign-language film.