Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers dress up as Founding Fathers to react to Confederate comparisons

Late night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers returned to “Weekend Update” on Thursday dressed up as Founding Fathers to defend themselves after being compared to Confederate generals by President Trump.

In the wake of the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., Trump had questioned if taking down statues of Gen. Robert E. Lee and other Confederate figures would lead to the removal of ones of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson as well.

“I’m nothing like that guy,” Fallon said, in full Washington costume. “I created this country, he tried to tear it apart.”

When host Michael Che interrupted him and brought up the fact that he owned slaves, the Washington stand-in tried to put the spotlight on Thomas Jefferson as the slave holder.

{mosads}

“Whoa, you’re going to throw me under the carriage like that?” Seth Meyers said as he rolled his chair into the frame as Thomas Jefferson. “You’re going to make me the slave guy, really?”

“You have to remember, it was a different time, man,” the Jefferson character added. “It was the ’70s, man. The 1770s.”

“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,” Meyers continued.

“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.